[/caption]Carol Forsloff - A child’s drowning death today in Oregon is an alert about the ocean’s environment and the risks of wave currents near the shore, an important scientific fact we all need to know to keep our children safe, especially on sunny days when children enjoy the waters.
Two hours ago today on the 4th of July Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers, with the assistance of the Tillamook County have alerted the public that they are now completing the investigation into the drowning death Monday
morning of a 9-year old southeast Portland girl in the ocean surf at Cape LookoutState Park. Authorities tell us that the girl's name will be released Tuesday morning to allow family additional time to complete any needed next of kin notifications.
According to OSP Sergeant Greg Plummer, on July 4, 2011 at approximately 10:30 a.m. the child had been playing on a flotation toy in the surf near shore. She was part of a large family holiday gathering at Cape Lookout State Park. The toy has been described as a large inflatable whale. A large wave caught the child with three other children, sweeping the toy from beneath them. A second wave followed, returning the three children to shore with the victim taken under water.
The child was discovered by family members several minutes later and was pulled unconscious from the surf. She was not breathing, and when two State Parks rangers arrived, she was given CPR and emergency help by a team that arrived at the scene. Later she was transported to Tillamook County General Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 12:15 p.m., July 4, according to a press release from Oregon State police.
What scientists tell us is that wave action near the shore has specific characteristics that can involve risk. When ocean waves enter shallow areas, the behavior of the waves begins to change. Knowing about these behaviors helps authorities able to forecast conditions at local beaches.
What also happens as waves enter shallow water they slow down and change shape, increasing in height. Once they reach a water depth of approximately 1.3 times their height they start to break. The speed of how this occurs depends upon the conditions of the local sea bed, as the wave can increase as he top begins to spill forward.
Drowning deaths occur with sufficient frequency in areas near shore that police advise citizens to be aware of the waves breaking near the shallow areas near shore. These locations may seem safe on the surface, but when the waves break, they can create a significant undertow. It is this that causes many drowning deaths.
So what should people do if they are caught in a rip current or see someone else struggling after a wave has hit shore and they are dragged under? The National Drowning Prevention Alliance website tells us that if you find yourself stuck in an undertow, remain calm and swim parallel to the shore until out of the current. After that, swim at an angle away from the current until you reach shore. If you find someone struggling in a rip current, the Alliance advises not to run in after them because it is easy to get stuck in the current as well. People have died in these rescue attempts.
The problem is yelling instructions on how to get out of a rip current may not be understood in the panic that occurs when this happens to a child. Experts say whenever there is a question, or the state of an ocean area is unknown, it is best to keep children out of water near shore when thee is no adult nearby.
