‘Safety first’ after deadly summer

Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au

THE life saving season has begun, as the weather warms up and more people head to Victorian beaches. Beachside municipalities are historically some of the worst affected by drownings each year. More people died of drowning in the Mornington Peninsula LGA than any other between 2012 and 2022. In the same timeframe Frankston ranked 11th of 79 LGAs for drowning deaths. Bayside ranked 14th and Kingston was 21st (“Young people most vulnerable to drowning” The News 12/12/22).

Life savers began full patrol services last weekend on 11 November.

Emergency services minister Jaclyn Symes said that swimmers needed to exercise caution as beaches get busier.

“I urge anyone visiting Victoria’s beautiful waterways this summer to put their safety first – our volunteers work hard to protect everyone around water but they need everyone to do their bit too,” Symes said.

A Royal Life Saving Society/Surf Life Saving Australia report released earlier this year revealed that 281 people nationally died from drowning between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. In Victoria 59 people died from accidental drowning, up around 26 percent on the state’s 10-year average.

Beaches are the most common location for drowning deaths. Around a third of national drowning deaths in the 2022/2023 year were preceded by swimming and recreation, and 26 per cent of deaths occurred in December and January. Life Saving Victoria lifesaving services general manager Liam Krige said that last summer, Victoria “experienced its highest festive drowning period in 18 years – a trend we do not want to see repeated this year”.

“We implore you to swim between the red and yellow flags at a patrolled location wherever possible,” Krige said.

An El Niño weather pattern has been declared, with this summer expected to be hotter than usual. Last summer Life Saving Victoria members made 674 rescues, and administered first aid 11,000 times.

Lifesaving patrols will run until 25 April next year. To see a list of patrolled locations visit beachsafe.org.au