Coastal Hazards

RIP CURRENTS IN SPAIN

Under specific conditions along a seacoast or lakeshore, powerful currents form that carry large amounts of water away from the shore: rip currents. Rip currents develop when a series of large waves piles up water between the longshore bar and the swash zone. 
On average, around 500 people die each year in Spanish coastal waters alone, in many cases, they succumb to deadly rip currents. Antonio de la Cruz, a geologist who helped prepare a report by the Camilo José Cela University, blames powerful rip currents. “These are not the typical currents found between the waves, instead, they are like rivers that pull swimmers out to sea,” he says. These types of currents are produced by gusts of wind that whip up the waves. The problem, particularly on beaches in Valencia, is that a huge amount of water reaches the shoreline, but the lack of depth means there isn’t enough space, and it is pushed out powerfully to sea.
Spain waters have lot of rip currents and try their best to enforce warning sign/flags when they're coming. Spain has signs on how to spot a rip tide/current and what they are to warn people. They tell people how to stay safe during a rip current by swimming if there are lifeguards around, avoiding waters if they have consumed alcohol, don't swim alone, most importantly, stay calm and do not panic, etc. 


 Staying Safe on a Surf Beach: What Are Rip Currents? · Frontiers ...



References:

Comments

  1. zachdawnMay 3, 2020 at 11:42 PM

    Interesting post Jocelyn, I know we have similar hazards in the Monterey Area. I had to do a report once on Monastery Beach and it's deadly undertow. These hazards are especially scary because most people cannot tell that they're even dangerous just by looking at them.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

VOLCANOES

Image
Malta does not have any volcanoes in the area but there is one that is only 200 km away! It is Mount Etna which is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.  Mount Etna erupts on average once a year.  There are two types of eruptions that Mount Etna experiences: explosive eruptions from its summit craters and flank vent explosions. The most common of these are from the three summit craters: the northeast, the central and the southeast, however when the flank vents erupt, it is highly likely that it will cause an explosion from the summit craters. On March 8th, 1669, Mount Etna began to rumble, producing gas from the top of the towering landmark. M olten lava began to spill out of Mount Etna, being pushed out with such force that ash was reportedly seen over 100 miles away. On the south side of the mountain, the lava began to head towards the city of Catania. It was Mount Edna's biggest eruption that killed 17,000 residents and their homes.  To make sure ...
Read more

Hazards, Disasters & Catastrophes

Nobody in the US is 100% safe from the earths natural hazards as natural processes such as: tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, etc., can vary in how dangerous they are. While disasters and catastrophes can be seen as the same thing, there is a big difference between the two. Catastrophes caused massive destruction's that can take years for recovery including raising the money for the damages it caused. On the other hand, for a hazardous event to be considered a disaster , either less than 10 people are killed, less than 100 are effected, there is a declared state of emergency, or a request for international assistance.
Read more