Types of Currents and How to Escape ThemRiver rapidWhat it is:
Whitewater, fast-moving water; unpredictable, often changing direction.
How to escape:
Roll over onto your back and go downstream feet first to avoid hitting your head. When you are out of the strongest part of the current, swim straight toward the shore. Because of the current, you will actually move downstream at an angle toward the shore.
Hydraulic currentWhat it is:
A strong force created by water flowing downward over an object and then reversing its flow. The reverse flow can trap and hold a person under.
How to escape:
Swim to the bottom and then swim out with the current to reach the surface.
Ocean currentWhat it is:
A Longshore Current moves parallel to the shore, carrying a swimmer farther down the beach.
How to escape:
Try to swim toward shore while moving along with the current. (You will eventually get to shore, although you may be some distance from where you entered the water.)
Rip CurrentWhat it is:
A Rip Current that moves straight out to sea beyond the breaking waves. Rip currents can carry a swimmer into deep water.
How to escape:
Swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current. Once you are free, turn and swim toward the shore.
DamsSwimming, fishing and boating near a dam requires special precautions. Be sure to observe the following rules:
- Watch for open floodgates. When floodgates are opened, the water level can rise quickly below the dam and can create a dangerous wall of water.
- Never swim or boat near a dam. If gates open at a hydroelectric power dam, the current can pull swimmers and even boaters who are above the dam into and through the dam.
- Avoid low-head dams on rivers. When water flows over a low-head dam, a hydraulic current is created. Boats and canoes have been caught in such hydraulic currents.
- Always check out rivers and lakes before swimming or boating so you won’t find yourself too close to a dam.
- Obey warning signs and warning signals immediately.
