If caught in a rip current, the first rule is to not panic, and the best advice is to go with the flow.
The after-effects of Hurricane Idalia will impact many trying to enjoy their Labor Day weekend. Authorities along the eastern seaboard are issuing serious warnings.
Hurricane Idalia has left the United States’ South, but the rip currents the storm left behind will have a large impact on the East Coast.
Three other storms are swirling further into the Atlantic Ocean: Hurricane Franklin, Tropical Storm Jose and Tropical Depression Gert.
The beaches on Long Island were closed to swimmers on Thursday but reopened Friday, though the risk remains high. Red flags warning people to stay out of the water were put up on Jones Beach.
At Sandy Hook beach on the Jersey Shore, the waves reached three to seven feet. A lifeguard tells Inside Edition Friday the water was too dangerous to swim in and the risk for rip currents is extremely high.
If you are caught in a rip current, the first rule is to not panic. Old advice was to swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the riptide, but the new advice is to go with the flow.
“Lay back, kick your feet gently, move your hands at your sides, and just go with it,” a lifeguard says. “It’s gonna dissipate, once we get out there. And then once it dissipates, you can swim right out of it.”
