Here are the do’s and don’ts of beach flag warnings in Florida

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. – Thursday’s ocean tragedy, when two people became entangled in a rip current near Stuart Beach and later died, has us curious about Florida’s rules and regulations when it comes to beach condition warnings.

When you arrive at a public beach access point, you will likely see signs explaining the beach condition flags and what they mean. You may also see signs explaining what to do if you get caught in a rip current.

We have learned that these signs are distributed through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. State and local governments can request the signs and they must be placed in public access areas. The beach flags provide general warnings about general surfing conditions and do not specifically inform the public about the presence of rip currents, the FDEP said.

Florida law says the state’s warning flag program is open to any government with jurisdiction over a public beach along the coast, regardless of whether it has lifeguards. However, it is not required.

Florida law also says: “Due to the inherent danger posed by constantly changing surf conditions and other naturally occurring conditions along the Florida coast, the state, state agencies, local and regional government agencies or authorities, and their individual employees and agents shall not be held liable for any injury or loss of life caused by changing surf and other naturally occurring conditions along coastal areas, whether or not uniform warning and safety flags or department-developed warning signs are displayed or posted.

Ian Montgelas is chief of the Martin County Ocean Rescue Service. Regarding Thursday’s incident, which occurred on an unsupervised area of ​​the beach near condos with private beach access, he said, “Our lifeguards observed those individuals entering the water before the 911 calls came in and while they responded to the area to check on the individuals, then the 911 call came in and it went from there.

They were in the water hundreds of meters away from the nearest lifeguard station, which flew a red flag, a warning of high surf and strong currents. Montgelas says these rough conditions are unusual for this time of year and could catch locals and tourists alike off guard.

“In a situation like that, things can happen very quickly. June is one of those months where you don’t normally see these kinds of circumstances, it’s quite rare,” he said.

“The ocean is a dangerous place anyway, even when the water is completely flat,” the Ocean Rescue Chief said. He adds that this is another reason why you should always try to swim at a patrolled beach where lifeguards can get to you more quickly if there is an emergency. Montgelas said the rip currents are stronger during low tide.

Martin County posts information about ocean conditions on its website, including locations of lifeguard stands and web cameras.

Syndey Launay lives in Martin County and enjoys surfing. She was at the beach on Thursday when she saw all the commotion.

“Suddenly all the lifeguards came out and waved. It was scary to see all those things happening,” she said. “I can’t imagine they can see the flags from down there.”

She would like to see more flags spread across the beach to warn of dangerous conditions.

“If the flags were extended to the other end of the beach it would just be safer so this wouldn’t happen again,” she said.

Her friend Grace Lykins agreed.

“Yesterday I was really shocked when I saw their bodies being dragged out of the water and they were lifeless. Today I knew I was going to surf again so I got a whistle on my board,” she said. “It may not do much, but it can do something, get someone’s attention.”