A catastrophic year of loss has triggered an urgent plea from Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) for beachgoers to make their safety a priority this swim season.
Surf Life Saving Queensland’s 2018/19 Coast Safe Report has been released to coincide with the start of the patrolling season from September 21st to May 2020. The disturbing data has revealed 21 drowning deaths on Queensland beaches over the past 12 months, a 200% increase compared to 2017/18. Unfortunately, this tally proves to be the worst year on record since SLSQ started tracking their coastal data.
SLSQ Chief Executive Officer Dave Whimpey said “Tragically, 21 drownings is 21 too many, and the complacency has to end now. We need people swimming between the flags during patrol hours to provide our volunteer surf lifesavers with the best possible chance of rescuing you.” Shockingly, the report showed approximately 83% of all rescues were outside of the red and yellow flags.
With more than 21.56 million people visiting QLD beaches in the 12 months from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019, SLSQ patrols recorded 716,215 preventative actions, 65,133 first aid treatments and 3,894 rescues. This shows a 35% rise in rescues and an 85% rise in the number of first aid treatments performed in comparison to the previous year.
Surprisingly, 58% of all patients rescued from Queensland shorelines were male. It was also distressing to see that 18 of the 21 drowning victims were males aged over 50. “Over the past 12 months, there’s been a very clear and strong shift towards an older age group,” Mr Whimpey said.
The SLSQ CEO adds, “We all need to take responsibility for our own safety, so my message for anyone who does fall into this age category is to only swim at patrolled beaches and between the red and yellow flags where we can see you if you get into trouble.”
While older age groups were heavily represented in this year’s drowning figures, Mr Whimpey said the vital safety warnings issued by SLSQ are applicable to all beachgoers. “The reality is though – our resources are stretched and we cannot be everywhere. Make your safety a priority and only enter the water at a patrolled beach. If not for yourself, do it for a loved one,” he pleaded.
Mr Whimpey said this year’s Coast Safe Report also recorded that 10 of the 21 drownings in 2018/19 and 26% of those pulled from the water had been international visitors. “This of course saddens us greatly and reinforces the need to communicate our surf safety messaging to both a domestic and international audience. We’re really keen to work closely with key stakeholders, tourism bodies and airlines to help communicate directly with international and domestic tourists,” he said.
A total of 319,101 patrol hours were logged over the 2018/19 season with volunteers dealing with record crowds, swarms of marine stingers and periods of unpredictable surf. With the new season having already started, Surf Life Saving QLD is hoping swimmers will head their warnings and help underpin their vision of ‘zero preventable deaths in QLD public waters.’
Be the first to comment