ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. (WNCT) – If you’re heading to the beach at all this summer, it’s important to pay attention to your surroundings.
Every morning, lifeguards communicate what the rip current conditions are through a flag system.
If it’s green, you’re good to go in the water.
If it’s yellow, you should use caution
If it’s red, you shouldn’t go in the water at all
According to the Atlantic Beach EMS captain, swimmers really need to pay attention to this system.
“If you’ve got high rollers and large breakers coming in, they look like they’re a lot of fun to swim in but they can be very dangerous,” he said. “And added on to that, if you get stuck in the breaker, in the rollers, and the rip current, you get in a very bad situation. You can’t swim against it and the best advice I can give is to let it take you.”
Experts say never try to challenge the rip currents, no matter how experienced you are as a swimmer.
