Long Beach in Panama City Beach, Florida, USA is known as the Emerald Coast in the Panhandle. Taken in January 2018. Photo and Caption: Darlene Stanley/Shutterstock.com
After three more fatalities over the weekend, Panama City Beach in Florida is officially the deadliest beach in the United States thus far in 2023.
Three people drowned and other people were saved as a result of strong rip currents despite double red flag warnings, which means swimming is prohibited in the Gulf.
According to data from the National Weather Service, Panama City had more surf zone fatalities in 2023 than any other beach in the country with seven rip current-related deaths in the previous nine days.
Two men from Georgia, one 39 years old and the other 63, as well as a Michigan man, age 68, were the casualties on Saturday. According to WMBB of Nexstar, two other beachgoers perished in the nearby Walton County, one on Thursday and the other on Saturday. Then, on Tuesday, according to Nexstar’s WKRG, former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett drowned off the coast of Destin, Florida.
Responders and lifeguards are concerned about tourists adhering to the hazard flag system because all of the victims were from outside the state.
“Our issue, as I discovered, is simply a lack of compliance. The flagrant failure to follow the lifeguard’s warning,” said Daryl Paul, director of safety for Panama City Beach.
It is not the fault of a lifeguard when Mother Nature takes her course, said Mackenzie McClintock, the public information officer with South Walton Fire Rescue. It will never be their fault. They merely serve to protect individuals from harm.
According to the NWS, Florida has experienced more deadly surf-related incidents than any other U.S. state or territory, with 26 this year, followed by Puerto Rico with 13. As of Tuesday, California, Louisiana, and Alabama all have three. Mallett’s demise had not yet been recorded in NWS statistics at the time of publication.
On Saturday alone on Panama City Beach, there were 39 rescues and 3 fatalities in a 5-hour period. Paul claims that they still do not have the complete list of rescues that were carried out over the weekend and blames the delay on the significant surge of help his department needed.
Paul said, “We are currently adding up the figures and going over all of our reports. “Ensuring that we receive accurate, truthful data that we can distribute to the city.”
According to McClintock, a lot of rescues happen because onlookers who are trying to help persons who are already submerged in the water end up becoming caught themselves. This makes the rescue from a single-person to a multi-person operation.
The main worry that we have, according to McClintock, “is not necessarily with our first responders entering the water because they know how, but rather it is the sort of, domino effect when onlookers jump into the ocean to try to rescue since they may not be swimming near lifeguard towers.
David Vaughan, the director of SWFD Beach Safety, praised his employees for their efforts this weekend.
The past eleven days have been a real test, Vaughan admitted. They are exhausted. Despite their frustration, we are quite proud of them.
Officials acknowledged that it is normal for people to be frustrated when prevented from enjoying the water, a top attraction in the area, but emphasized that the worth of human life far transcends any financial cost.
“You want to get in the water, and you become annoyed when a lifeguard tells you no, you have to stay on the shore. I do, but what we are trying to avoid is that one empty car seat on the voyage home,” Paul acquiesced.
The flag system is illegal, and violators are liable to a $500 fine. These fines can be lowered to merely $250 if paid within 20 days.
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.