More than 30 popular coastal areas in Taiwan are potential rip current hot spots, National Cheng Kung University’s Coastal Ocean Monitoring Center said on Monday.
The findings are the result of a study the center conducted with backing from the Central Weather Bureau that utilized satellite images and coastal photographs.
The hot spots include Baishawan (白沙灣) beach in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門), Yuguang Island (魚光島) in Tainan, Sizihwan Bay (西子灣) in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County’s Kenting (墾丁), all of which should consider installing alarm systems, center director Doong Dong-jiing (董東璟) said.
Photo: CNA
Rip currents are offshore currents that move perpendicular to the coastline. They are formed by coastal terrain and waves breaking near the shore.
They are one of the major causes of swimming injuries and drowning, Doong said.
Rip currents are difficult to spot with the naked eye due to their irregular occurrence, but more accurate observations have become possible with advanced technology such as satellite imagery and video monitoring, he said.
Each method has its restrictions, Doong said.
The satellites used in the study could take only one picture per day, while a video camera can record useful footage only during daytime, he said.
People caught in a rip current should wave their hands to draw attention, but not struggle against the current to save their strength so that they can make it back to the shore when the current abates, he said.
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