The latest National Audit Office report found that 46 beach areas around Taiwan can be considered “drowning hotspots” where a total of 235 rescue incidents were recorded in the period from 2014 to 2021, mainly involving rip currents.
A rip current is a strong, narrow current going out to sea at beaches when incoming waves break to channel the water to move directly away from shore by cutting through the waves. The swift current travels at a velocity of up to 2m per second and is hazardous to swimmers, as it can quickly pull people out hundreds of meters from the beach, the report said.
Scientific studies mentioned by National Cheng Kung University’s Coastal Ocean Monitoring Center analyzed 468 satellite images from 2013 to 2017 by applying “edge detection” technology on coastal surf and fracture zones, leading to identifying rip current “hotspots” at 46 beaches around Taiwan, which helped upgrade the nation’s database for the marine hazard prevention program.
Photo: Taipei Times file
By applying a “quantum geographic information system” to the 46 beach hotspots, from 2014 to 2021 there were a total of 235 rescue incidents documented, with Tainan’s Sicao Beach (四草海灘) having 34 incidents, the highest in the nation during that period, the report said.
The second area with 33 reported incidents was at Sunset Platform (觀夕平台海灘) at Anping Port (安平港), just south of Sicao in Annan District (安南), followed by 18 reported incidents at Gold Coast (黃金海岸), in Tainan’s South District (南區), it said.
These are followed by 17 reported incidents at Yilan County’s Waiao Beach (外澳沙灘) and Tainan’s Yuguang Island Beach (漁光島海灘), 13 reported incidents at Kaohsiung’s Sizihwan Beach (西子灣沙灘) and 12 reported incidents at Baishawan Beach (白沙灣海灘) on Taipei’s northern coast and Sinfeng Beach (新豐海水浴場海灘) in Hsinchu County.
The office warned people heading to beaches for leisure and recreation about the dangers of rip currents at high-risk beaches.
“The Ministry of Education, which oversees the Sports Administration, said the agency has provided WHO guidelines on the prevention of drowning” along with educational materials on rip currents and water-related dangers, the report said, adding that the agency’s Web site actually has not yet listed past records and current risks at these hotspots in its water safety program for students.
Ministry officials said they plan to integrate the Sports Administration’s Web site on student safety with the Ocean Affairs Council’s risk information platform GoOcean.
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