NHESS Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences NHESS Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. 1684-9981 Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/nhess-13-1687-2013 Brief Communication: A new perspective on the Australian rip current hazard Brander R. 1 Dominey-Howes D. 2 Champion C. 1 Del Vecchio O. 1 Brighton B. 3 School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Surf Life Saving Australia, Locked Bag 1010, Rosebery, NSW 2018, Australia 28 06 2013 13 6 1687 1690 Copyright: © 2013 R. Brander et al. 2013 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is available from https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/13/1687/2013/nhess-13-1687-2013.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/13/1687/2013/nhess-13-1687-2013.pdf

Rip currents are strong, narrow offshore flows of water which occur on many of the world's beaches and represent a serious hazard to bathers. In Australia, rip currents account for an average of 21 confirmed human fatalities per year. Based on an analysis of the longest existing data records, rip currents account for more human fatalities in Australia on average each year than bushfires, floods, and cyclones combined. This finding raises important questions regarding the levels of attention placed on the low intensity, but high frequency rip current hazard in relation to high profile and episodic natural hazards.

 References Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News Online: Catastrophic fire warning confuses residents, available at: <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/18/2746064.htm">http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/18/2746064.htm</a> (last access: 3 December 2012), 2009. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News Online: Swimmers may not understand tsunami risk, available at: <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/03/01/2833326.htm">http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/03/01/2833326.htm</a> (last access: 3 December 2012), 2010. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS): Year Book, Australia 2008, Feature Article 3: Understanding natural hazard impacts in Australia, available at: <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/1301.0Feature%20Article42008?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1301.0&issue=2008&num=&view=">http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/1301.0Feature%20Article42008?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1301.0&issue=2008&num=&view=</a> (last access: 30 November 2012), 2008. Australian Emergency Management Institute (AEMI): Emergency Management Database, Australia Government Attorney-General's Department, available at: <a href="http://www.disasters.ema.gov.au/Browse/Categories.aspx">http://www.disasters.ema.gov.au/Browse/Categories.aspx</a> (last access: 21 November 2012), 2012. Brander, R. and MacMahan, J.: Future challenges for rip current research and outreach, in: Rip Currents, Beach Safety, Physical Oceanography and Wave Modeling, edited by: Leatherman, S. and Fletemeyer, J., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1–29, 2011. Brander, R., Bradstreet, A., Sherker, S., and MacMahan, J.: Responses of swimmers caught in rip currents: Perspectives on mitigating the global rip current hazard, Int. J. Aqua. Res. Educ., 5, 476–482, 2011. Brewster, B. C.: Rip current misunderstandings, Nat. Hazards, 55, 161–162, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11069-010-9527-4">https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-010-9527-4</a>, 2010. Brighton, B., Sherker, S., Brander, R., Thompson, M., and Bradstreet, A.: Rip current related drowning deaths and rescues in Australia 2004–2011, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 13, 1069–1075, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/nhess-13-1069-2013">https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-13-1069-2013</a>, 2013. CNN News: Putting Australia's shark attacks in perspective, available at: <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/27/opinion/australia-shark-attacks/index.html">http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/27/opinion/australia-shark-attacks/index.html</a> (last access: 3 December 2012), 2011. CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation): Our resilient coastal Australia, available at: <a href="http://www.csiro.au/en/Organisation-Structure/Flagships/Wealth-from-Oceans-Flagship/ORCA.aspx">http://www.csiro.au/en/Organisation-Structure/Flagships/Wealth-from-Oceans-Flagship/ORCA.aspx</a>, last access: 3 December 2012. Drozdzewski, D., Shaw, W., Dominey-Howes, D., Brander, R., Walton, T., Gero, A., Sherker, S., Goff, J., and Edwick, B.: Surveying rip current survivors: preliminary insights into the experiences of being caught in rip currents, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 12, 1201–1211, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/nhess-12-1201-2012">https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-12-1201-2012</a>, 2012. Gensini, V. and Ashley, W.: An examination of rip current fatalities in the United States. Nat. Hazards, 54, 159–175, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11069-009-9458-0">https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-009-9458-0</a>, 2009. Guha-Sapir, D., Vos, F., Below, R., and Ponserre, S.: Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2011: the numbers and trends, Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Brussells, 52 pp., 2012. Hammer, C.: The Coast, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1st Edn., 237 pp., 2012. Klein, A. H. da F., Santana, G. G., Diehl, F. L., and de Menezes, J. T.: Analysis of hazards associated with sea bathing: results of five years' work in oceanic beaches of Santa Catarina State, Southern Brazil, J. Coastal Res., 35, 107–116, 2003. Lushine, J. B.: A study of rip current drownings and weather related factors, Nat. Weather Dig., 16, 13–19, 1991. Middelmann, M. H. (Ed.): Natural Hazards in Australia: Identifying Risk Management Requirements, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, 173 pp., 2007. Scott, T. M., Russell, P. E., Masselink, G., and Wooler, A.: Rip current variability and hazard along a macro-tidal coast, J. Coastal Res., SI 56, 895–899, 2009. Sherker, S., Brander, R., Finch, C., and Hatfield, J.: Why Australia needs an effective national campaign to reduce coastal drowning, J. Sci. Med. Sport, 11, 81–83, 2008. Short, A. D.: Australian rip systems: friend or foe?, J. Coastal Res., SI 50, 7–-11, 2007. Short, A. D. and Hogan, C.: Rip currents and beach hazards: their impact on public safety and implications for coastal management, J. Coastal Res., 12, 197–209, 1994. West, J.: Australian Shark Attack File, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, available at: <a href="http://www.taronga.org.au/animalsconservation/conservationscience/australian-shark-attack-file/latest-figures">http://www.taronga.org.au/animalsconservation/conservationscience/australian-shark-attack-file/latest-figures</a> (last access: 21 November 2012), 2012. Worldwatch Institute (WWI): Losses from natural disasters reach new peak in 2011, available at: <a href="http://www.worldwatch.org/losses-natural-disasters-reach-new-peak-2011">http://www.worldwatch.org/losses-natural-disasters-reach-new-peak-2011</a> (last access: 21 November 2012), 2012.