This summer, millions of people will flock to Australia’s beaches – and tragically, not all will survive. Last summer, 54 people drowned along the Australian coast. This included 28 people in New South Wales – the highest number in the state’s recorded history.
About 80% of the drownings occurred at beaches and almost half were due to people caught in offshore flowing rip currents.
Crucially, all of these drownings occurred in locations not patrolled by professional lifeguards or volunteer surf lifesavers. That is a stark statistic.
