00:00For those who may not be familiar, what is the beach flag safety system and how should visitors
00:06use it before entering the water? Hey, good morning, Bernie and Ariella. It's a fine accuweather day
00:13out here. That's a great question. It's much like a traffic signal. We kind of mirrored that
00:19with a red, yellow, and green. It is green means it's a low hazard, yellow means use caution,
00:25red is a higher hazard, and a double red means don't go at all. And then if you have a blue flag,
00:31we add marine life like sharks and stuff like that. Absolutely. All right. So what are the
00:35biggest mistakes you see beachgoers make when it comes to water safety? Well, it's important to
00:43go down a checklist. The first one we put out there is learn to swim, America. Your ability to swim can
00:48save your life. The next one is know before you go. Check the internet, check the accuweather for
00:53the weather, find out where there's lifeguards at, swim in front of a lifeguard. Your chances of
00:57drowning in front of a lifeguard are one in 18 million. And then when you get to the beach,
01:01you can use identifiers. Everywhere there's a dip, there's a rip. And in that, if you do just
01:06get caught in a rip current, remember the rip. Rip means relax, indicate that you need help. And
01:12someone on the beach might have a station like we have behind us, a drown zero station. It's flotation,
01:17they can get out to you. And P, try to swim parallel. So it's very important to kind of go down that
01:21checklist, as well as assign a water watch to look out for the people who may not swim
01:25in your group. And how can swimmers and surfers spot dangerous surf or changing conditions before
01:33lifeguards post new flags? And how deep can you go into the water and still be safe from rip currents?
01:43Well, part one of that, like I said, you can kind of check the area by the, everywhere there's a dip,
01:48there's a rip. You've been in a location where you're sitting there and your stuff gets wet and
01:52the people on both sides of you are dry. You're in the rip. Don't go in. The next part of that is
01:57know your limitations. If it looks threatening, when in doubt, don't go out. Just sit back and enjoy
02:02the beauty. So we say stay out of the water, depending on your limitation, your swimming ability,
02:08and don't push your limits. What steps can families take to keep children safe when waves
02:14are stronger than usual? Well, that goes back to the assign a water watcher and put people or your
02:21anyone, adults or children that don't swim very well, put them in a Coast Guard approved life jacket.
02:26But the water watcher is critical. The water watcher is someone in your group. It's kind of like a group
02:31lifeguard. And you can even give them a whistle or a tag. And if it's a large group, you guys assign
02:37multiple people with no distractions. And you can take turns. So it's paramount to keep your eye on the
02:41little ones or those who don't swim. All right. And one last question. I know you mentioned this
02:48again, but can you explain how rip currents can form? How do they form? You already explained how
02:56to escape them, but how do they form? Well, you know, that takes years and years to understand
03:02completely, but there are different kinds of currents. There's permanent rips by jetties and
03:07inlets. There's a transient rips that we get a lot as the bottoms change and the winds and the waves
03:12react. But what the most important thing to remember is it's just a current that's pulling
03:18away from the shoreline. It does not take you under. I've been getting a lot of that lately. It does not
03:23take you under. And again, if you're in that rip, you can not, if you don't panic, you're just getting
03:27a little ride. And if you know how to swim very well and apply some of the checklists that I mentioned,
03:32you know, the most important thing is, you know, adhere to any of the warnings. We have been doing a
03:36wonderful job here in America with your outlet and the media trying to tell people that there
03:40are rip currents, that they're coming because they are predictable and drowning is preventable as
03:46well. Wyatt, we're a spokesperson for the American Lifeguard Association. We always appreciate your
03:51expertise and the beautiful blue sky. You're bringing us there in Cocoa Beach, Florida and what
03:55you're doing to keep everyone safe. Always swim near a lifeguard. Yes, always. By the way, it is official.
04:01Hurricane Center has sent out the update a little early. Aaron is now the first hurricane of the
04:082025 Atlantic season. All right.
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