4th Of July Safety: Flooding, Shark Bites, Rip Currents, Drowning Risk

ACROSS AMERICA — Beaches and lakes are expected to see huge crowds of fun seekers this 4th of July weekend, especially with a forecast for the sizzling Independence Day temperatures for millions of Americans on the East and West coasts.

In other states, Independence Day fun isn’t canceled but may be moved inside, according to the new 4th of July weather forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Boaters in several Midwest states, especially those living near the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, may have difficulty finding open boat ramps this weekend. Flooded waterways in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota and other areas that have flooded are expected to see even more rain before the end of the week, NOAA said.

Weather considerations aside, with summer fun comes risks, on the coasts and in lakes and rivers and in boats or while swimming. Exercise common sense, safety experts say.

Here are some things to know about 4th of July and summer safety:

How Likely Is A Shark Attack?

Sharks gained a nasty reputation in box office blockbusters such as “Jaws” and others, casting the apex predators as villains. With their serrated, dagger-like teeth, they do look menacing — and that image alone can fuel galeophobia, or the fear of sharks.

Their reputation hasn’t been enhanced by a spate of shark attacks this year. They include the death of a former professional surfer and “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor Tamayo Perry, 49, who was fatally bitten by a shark off the coast of Oahu on June 23.

Hawaii has seen two shark attacks in 2024. Also this year, five people have been bitten in Florida, and California, New York and South Carolina have each reported one shark bite.

These incidents include:

• A Florida boater was critically injured in a shark attack on June 28. According to authorities, the man was part of a group of anglers who reeled in a shark, which lunged and got hold of the man’s arm.
• Three people were injured in two shark attacks off Florida beaches on June 7. One of them, a 45-year-old woman, had her arm amputated as a result. Two teenage girls were bitten by a shark in an incident about an hour later, and one of them suffered serious injuries, according to authorities.
• On June 2, a swimmer was seriously injured by a shark off a Del Mar, California, beach, prompting its temporary closure. The 46-year-old man sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries to his torso, left arm and hand.

Shark attacks are rare, though.

The Florida Museum, a state natural history museum that tracks shark attacks, puts the odds of being attacked by a shark at about 1 in 11.5 million. And the odds of being killed by a shark are 0 in 264.1 million.

Sharks are most active at dawn, dusk and nighttime. Signs they may be near include large groups of fish, seals and sea lions, which are part of sharks’ preferred diets.

But they may be attracted to high-contrast clothing, including the bright oranges and yellows that have proven to be risky colors, and to shiny jewelry that may resemble fish scales.

If you see a shark, don’t provoke or harass it, even if it’s small. Leave the water immediately. There are other things you can do to avoid a shark attack, including staying out of the water if you’re bleeding. Women and girls who are having their periods should sit it out on the beach, too, according to National Geographic, which has a full list of precautions.

Speaking of marine life, stay away from sea otters, too. One particular creature, Otter 841, became an internet sensation last year for stealing surfboards off the coast of Santa Cruz, California. Surfers were urged to stay clear of otters as debate raged about whether humans were the true aggressors.

Dive Into Summer, But Safely

According to the Florida Museum data, beachgoers are more likely to die in some other way than from a fatal shark bite. The odds of drowning or dying in some other beach-related hazard are about 1 in 2 million.

On average, more than 4,000 people die in drownings every year, which works out to be about 11 fatal drownings a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency also reports an average of more than 8,000 nonfatal drownings per year.

Drowning is a leading cause of death in children ages 1-4, and among children ages 5-14, it’s the second leading cause of death after motor vehicle crashes, according to the CDC.

It’s important to know what drowning looks like — and what it doesn’t look like. Forget the dramatic scenes of people wildly waving their arms and frantically calling for help that you’ve seen on TV and in the movies.

Real-life drowning happens quietly, without flailing arms and frantic calls for help. People can't simply stop drowning long enough to take in a breath of air and call for help. The human body isn't built that way.

If you have a swimming pool, make sure the gates are secure and kids can’t access or unlock them. Kids should be supervised at all times — and no looking down at the cellphone the entire time they’re in the pool or at the beach. And if you haven’t already, before the summer is over, enroll your kids in swimming lessons and encourage advanced swimmers to work toward lifeguard certification.

When boating, make sure everyone has a properly fitting life jacket. Don’t drink while you’re in the water. According to the CDC, 70 percent of all deaths associated with water recreation involve alcohol, and 1 in 5 are boating deaths.

Summer Storms Continue

Blistering hot temperatures and warming ocean waters are fueling more violent thunderstorms in many parts of the country. That can mean lightning.

Overall, the risk of being struck by lightning in any given year is low, about 1 in 1,222,000, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. About 27 people die a year from lightning, and about 243 are injured.

The highest number of lightning-related deaths occur during June, July and August, according to the National Lightning Safety Council. About 1 in 3 deaths due to lightning was water-related, including people who were fishing, boating or at the beach, according to NOAA.

When the skies begin to rumble with thunder, it’s time to go indoors. That means lightning is an imminent threat.

Summer storms can present all kinds of dangers and can pop up suddenly. When they brew, get to a safe shelter, stay away from windows and doors and anything that conducts electricity, such as wiring, plumbing and corded phones, or anything connected to them.

If you’re stuck outside on a hill and mountain, get to a lower land as quickly as you safely can, because lightning tended to strike at higher elevations. Don’t shelter under isolated trees or near utility poles, water and objects that conduct electricity. And never lie flat on the ground.

If a tornado is threatened, go to the basement or lowest level possible.

Watch For Rip Currents

Rip currents, often called “drowning machines,” are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from the shore and extending through the surf zone and past the line of breaking waves, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

They can occur at any beach with breaking waves, including the Great Lakes, and usually form in low spots or breaks in sandbars and near structures such as jetties and piers.

About 80 percent of rescues performed by beach lifeguards are related to rip currents, according to the U.S. Lifesaving Association, which estimates more than 100 people a year die in rip current accidents.

Signs that a rip current is present can be very subtle and difficult to identify, especially with rough seas. They can be spotted when waters are calmer, especially from vantage points higher than the water’s edge. Look for:

• A narrow gap of darker, seemingly calmer water flanked by areas of breaking waves and whitewater.
• A channel of churning/choppy water that is distinct from surrounding water
• A difference in water color, such as an area of muddy-appearing water (which occurs from sediment and sand being carried away from the beach).
• A consistent area of foam or seaweed being carried through the surf.

Don’t Dig Sand Holes

The death earlier this year of a young girl digging in the sand on a Florida beach with her brother was a wake-up call about the dangers on the beach. Between three and five children die in sandhole collapses every year in the United States.

Between three and five children a year die in sand hole collapses, The Associated Press reported, citing a 2007 medical study and news reports. The authors of the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said the risk of a sand hole accident is “enormously deceptive because of its association with relaxed recreational settings not generally regarded as hazardous.”

Sandcastles don’t require a lot of digging, and experts advise against digging any holes in the sand. But they say the maximum size to avoid a sand collapse is 2 feet. Parents should monitor their children, stop them if they dig too deep and fill the holes before leaving the beach.

Snakes In Lakes And Other Places

If you’re swimming in a lake, hiking in the woods or just working in your garden, you can reliably count on a snake being nearby. About 8,000 people are bitten by snakes every year, according to the CDC.

Most snakes are harmless, but even those bites can cause an infection or allergic reaction. Whether at home or on vacation somewhere else, you should know about the 10 deadliest snakes in North America:

• The cottonmouth, which likes to hide in water throughout the Southeast and in the coastal plains north to Virginia.

• The timber rattlesnake, found from eastern Kansas, Texas, Iowa and central Wisconsin to Georgia, the Carolinas, West Virginia, western Virginia, Pennsylvania and New England.

• The black diamond rattlesnake, found widely across the western half of North America, from British Columbia to northern Mexico.

• The tiger rattlesnake, found along the Arizona-Mexico border.

• The copperhead, found throughout the eastern and central United States.

• The Eastern coral snake, found throughout the Southeast.

• The Western diamondback rattlesnake, found throughout the Southwest.

• The Eastern diamondback rattlesnake (the biggest venomous snake in North America), found in the pinelands of Florida, the coastal plains of North Carolina and southern Mississippi through eastern Louisiana.

• The prairie rattlesnake, found in the Great Plains from Canada to Mexico.

• The Mojave rattlesnake (the most venomous rattlesnake in the world), found in the desert Southwest

Before you venture go into the woods or some other place where snakes may be, make sure you have a plan on how to get emergency medical help — a good idea in any case. And make sure you have a fully stocked first aid kit. (But be skeptical of consumer snakebite kits, according to the Snakebite Foundation).

While you’re waiting for medical help, lay or sit the person down, positing them, so the bite is below the level of the heart; wash the wound with warm, soapy water; and cover the bite with a clean, dry dressing from the snake bite kit.

Protect Your Skin And Eyes

Whatever you’re doing outside, protect your eyes and skin. Anyone can get skin cancer, chiefly caused by ultraviolet radiation from the sun or tanning beds.

Prolonged exposure to the sun can also cause photokeratitis, a painful, temporary condition caused by exposure to ultraviolet rays. It’s a bit like a sunburn but affects the corneas of your eyes instead of your skin. Prolonged exposure can also cause eye diseases such as macular degeneration or cataracts.

The Food and Drug Administration recommends sunscreen with an SPF value of 15 sunscreen, which blocks out 93 percent of UV rays, while the American Academy of Dermatologists recommends an SPF of 30 or higher.

Don’t forget the sunglasses. That includes the kiddos, too, but grab them from the toy aisle because don’t offer protection. The FDA recommends glasses with a UV400 rating or lenses offering 100 percent UV protection. Keep this in mind: Dark lenses and UV protection are not synonymous. Consider large, wrap-around frames for more protection.

Also, wear a wide-brimmed hat, Airy, light-colored clothing providing full body coverage can provide full-body protection.

Pack Defensive Driving Skills

Pack your defensive driving skills with everything else if you’re heading out on a road trip — or just commuting to work or running errands around town. About 97 percent of summer trips are by car, according to AAA.

Early estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicate fatal crashes in warm-weather months were down in 2023 after significant hikes in 2020 and 2021, but still haven’t dropped to pre-pandemic levels.

Drunken driving makes summer one of the most dangerous on the nation’s highways, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, whose data shows more drunken drivers involved in fatal crashes during May, June and July than any other time of the year.

Plan ahead for a safe ride home with a sober driver — even if you’ve only had one drink. A sober driver is one who hasn’t had anything to drink — not the one who has had the least to drink.

If you’re hosting a party, make sure designated drivers have plenty of non-alcoholic beverages. Don’t let your friends drive drunk. Take away their keys, and make arrangements for them to get home safely or put them up for the night.

If you see a drunken driver on the road, pull over and call 911.

It’s Hot Car Season

Another important vehicle safety reminder: Cars can heat up quickly, even on mild days, becoming deadly in little as 10 minutes. As of July 3, there have been six hot car deaths this year; some 975 deaths due to pediatric vehicular heat stroke have occurred since counting began in 1998. On average, 38 kids a year die in hot cars.

Take the time to educate yourself to understand how parents and others can forget their kids are in cars — it happens to the best of parents and, according to experts, is most often unintentional. NHTSA offers these tips:

• Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended — even if the windows are partially open or the engine is running, and the air conditioning is on.

• Make it a habit to check your entire vehicle — front and back — before locking the door and walking away. Train yourself to “park, look, lock,” or always ask yourself, “Where's baby?”

• Ask your child care provider to call if your child doesn’t show up for care as expected.

• Place a personal item, such as a purse or briefcase in the back seat, as another reminder to look before you lock. Write a note or place a stuffed animal in the passenger's seat to remind you that a child is in the back seat.

• Store car keys out of a child's reach, and teach children that a vehicle is not a play area. A quarter of all hot car deaths occur because the child got into an unlocked car, not because a parent left them inside, according to the NHTSA.