A person easily can fall into hidden holes in shelf ice, with little chance of climbing out. Public education is the missing piece of the puzzle for water safety, Benjamin said. 04/12/2018 WNDU New Buffalo City Council debates removal of lifeguards from budget City leaders say they are simply not equipped to have well-trained lifeguards on duty at the New Buffalo beach. Last year, at least 42 people drowned in Lake Michigan, according to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, a group that tracks drownings across the Great Lakes. 04/14/2017 PR Tinley Park Parents Win National Drowning Prevention Alliance Lifesaver of the Year Award for water safety advocacy after sons Lake Michigan drowning Announces Illinois Water Safety School Presentations May 8 12. Leaders are trying to teach people water safety. Its been a busy season a lot of responses, said U.S. Coast Guard junior grade Lt. Kyle Maxey. 08/27/2019 The Weather Channel Lake Michigans Deadly Waves Prompt Warnings for Swimmers and Boaters in Illinois and Michigan, 08/26/2019 Univision Revelan alarmantes cifras de muertes por ahogamiento en el lago Michigan Segn datos de Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, una organizacin que monitorea accidentes. There were 307,205 deaths in Canada in 2020, the year in which the COVID -1 9 pandemic began, an increase of 21,935 (+7.7%) over the 285,270 deaths observed in 2019. Men are less likely to take safety precautions, Pratt said. Drowning death rates vary from state to state. He was with several others when he slipped and fell into the water around 5 a.m. near the 2600 block of North Cannon Drive, Chicago officials said. But when you come and use the lakes, you need to remember its not like a backyard pool, said Bob Pratt, of The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. Lifeguards are trained to recognize the signs of drowning, which Benjamin said many people misunderstand. Add in record high Lake Michigan water levels, which can create bigger waves and stronger rip currents, plus erosion that has reduced the size of some beaches, and its no wonder Great Lakes water safety officials are worried. 07/12/2018 AP US News & World Reports Chicago Urged to Extend Lifeguard Hours After Drowning The Chicago Park District is being urged to extend lifeguard patrols after the recent drowning of a 13-year-old girl. Jacob Breault, a rookie lifeguard with Indiana Dunes State Park, says the training will no doubt help him this summer. Its a huge gasp that totally fills your lungs If your head is underwater when you gasp, you will immediately drown, and without the support of a PFD, you will head straight for the bottom.. If you smelled smoke right now, you would look for a fire alarm. This summer we could see the perfect storm for drownings in the Great Lakes region. As clich as it sounds to anyone who hasnt had a near-death experience, Bokuns life flashed through his mind, he said. Absent them, its up to swimmers to know how to save themselves. The GIS map below can also be found here. The training was led by the Great Lakes surf rescue project and the purpose of the training was to prevent deaths on the lake this summer. 06/04/2019 Interlochen Public Radio Record number of drowning deaths in Great Lakes last year. I asked my dad, and he did it, too. Thunder Bay has the highest Opiod death Rate in Ontario. The flag system is absolutely not enough, said Executive Director Dave Benjamin. 07/30/2019 CBS 2 Chicago Threat Of Dangerous Waves, Currents Prompts Warning About Beach Hazards, 07/30/2019 Holland Sentinel Police: Being a hero isnt always the safest bet during water rescues. Brock advises parents to teach children what to do if you get in trouble in the water. The GLSRP is awaiting updates on these incidences. Full statistics here. Normally, Michigan City doesnt start their lifeguards until Memorial Day weekend, he said. I was in a structural current. Two other important tips from the Coast Guard: avoid alcohol and wear a life jacket. Stay with any boat that overturned; its buoyant. Its for this reason that after Martins death, the city checked the beachs condition each morning to see if it was safe to open. Unfortunately, water safety and drowning survival is not common sense, he said. Robert Stanick, the Army Corps of Engineers area engineer for the Lake Michigan office, said the required lease is a simple real estate agreement. These are done relatively quickly. Information is not being delivered effectively or efficiently to the public.. As of late Wednesday, 5,400 [8,500+] people had signed the petition. Its unknown if a lifeguard was present at the time. Its surface area is 31,700 square miles (82,000 square kilometers). A cargo and passenger steam ship that suffered a number of maritime accidents before its final wreck into the Manitoba in Whirefish Bay. Never. Twenty-two of those were in Lake Michigan. . He was reported to be in the water, yelling for help and struggling to stay afloat. Structures that may be visible on a calm day may not be visible on a windy day. In 2019, the GLSRP is tracking 11 Great Lakes drownings. According to the GLSRP, there have been 22 Great Lakes drownings so far for 2019. Lake Superior College - Institutional Research Source: Minnesota State Operational Data (30 th day) Updated: 3/2/2023 He said if the current forecast for Friday night to Sunday holds true, Lake Michigan will have high and turbulent surf, especially at the south end of the lake. Bystanders and medical personnel tried to resuscitate the girl, but she later died in a Buffalo hospital. That is the highest number for any year since 2010, except 2012 and 2016, when there were 99 for the entire year. Part of the problem, according to Benjamin, is that people dont know what they dont know. Chris Houser, UWindsors dean of science and an expert on rip currents, has co-authored a research paper with Masters student Brent Vlodarchyk that found there were 24 more drowning deaths on the Great Lakes this year than average. Although the council voted to keep the lifeguards this summer, it will revisit the discussion in the fall to determine if the program will continue in the future. A search is underway for Jacob Sandy, 23, last seen heading onto Lake Michigan to kayak. Pier Washoff Henry J. Stout, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. GLSRP is a non-profit group that tracks drowning statistics and performs presentations and training around the Midwest. 10/11/2022 CLEVELAND, OH VEHICLE IN WATER George Brandon, M-19 The Cleveland Metroparks have confirmed that one person was pulled from the lake at East 72nd Street after a vehicle went in the water. Adults should constantly and actively watch their children. Its not common sense that panic is the first stage of drowning. The nonprofit annually tracks drownings in the Great Lakes and recently issued a warning about a summer spike in deaths. A fully staffed Bradford Beach would have 14 lifeguards working seven days a week for 10 weeks at a total cost of $70,000. Looking at other beach locations: life rings are credited with saving lives in Grand Haven, Holland and St. Joseph in Michigan, and Gary and Michigan City in Indiana, according to the non-profit Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. 08/20/2018 WLS THEY SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING Maliks mother, Micah Freeman, said she did not know that a 10-year-old boy had been pulled from the water just an hour before her son went under. He urges kayakers, boaters and paddlers to wear their lifejackets, rather than just have them aboard. Great Lakes drownings are just the tip of the iceberg of the nationwide drowning crisis.. To date in 2017, there have been 9 drowning in Lake Michigan.05/15/2017 WSBT 22 Students learn beach safety in Michigan City. LAKE HURON = 12 (+1 unknown final outcome), LAKE ERIE = 24 (+3 Unknown Final Outcome). Forty-six people died on Lake Michigan last year, according to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. Benjamin said lifeguards stationed at the beach would be able to respond more quickly to a drowning or a missing child situation than emergency services. Were going to have a lot of people at the beach, Benjamin said. of Natural Resources says the 6-year-old child was swimming in the swim zone of the beach when they went under the water but failed to resurface. Then, either swim perpendicular to the flow until reaching safety, or continue floating and try to signal for help if too tired to swim. 08/24/2018 Cleveland 19 News Ashtabula teen becomes latest Lake Erie drowning death in 2018 Safety experts and government officials are expected to meet in Cleveland this fall to discuss water and swim safety in Lake Erie. 06/24/2020 ABC 7 CHICAGO Keeping Chicago beaches closed could be dangerous, safety experts say. 10/08/2020 MLIVE Letter from the Editor: Lake Michigan drowning video shows the power of nature, and the power of journalism to save lives. NBC 5s Regina Waldroup has the remarkable story. When you need it, Pratt says, it would be like trying to fasten your seatbelt during an accident. They should have said this, I would have taken my kids and went home, Freeman said. People drown every year during red flag conditions and every year, the system proves to be a failure. A flag has never gone into the water. One former lifeguard said with so many deaths the lack of a lifeguard on the beach is dangerous. Thats almost twice as many as I 2015. And, according to The Process of Drowning Timeline, lifeguards are a drowning persons only hope.. March 1, 2023 (87 years old) View obituary. We are two weeks away from that date and so far this year the number stands at 63. : DFL lawmakers introduce bill, Man arrested in St. Paul double fatal funeral shooting that killed chef, BCA identifies deputies who shot 70-year-old man in northern Minnesota, Friends: Man killed in St. Paul shooting was chef caught in crossfire, Walleye fishing on Mille Lacs Lake open all summer, Alex Murdaugh sentenced in murders of wife, son. Its the time of year when thousands of you head to the beach. 07/10/2020 NBC 26 Green Bay STURGEON BAY (NBC 26) A non-profit group that tracks drownings on the Great Lakes is warning that the deadly four Ws are in play: Warm, Wind, Waves and Weekend. A person will become unconscious and their heart will stop. Many of these deaths happen when people swimming end up in dangerous currents such as rip or structural-caused currents. After searching more than 2,500 miles of the bottom of Lake Superior, the Atlanta a 172-foot schooner-barge that sank during a terrible storm has been found, preserved in the icy water just as it was when it went down more than 130 years ago. Kyra, the nine-year-old, panickedand jumped out of the kayak, causing it to flip over. 02/19/2018 NWI Times UPDATE: Flood warnings issued for Little Cal at Munster, Kankakee River Despite the warm-up, shelf ice remained along the Lake Michigan shoreline, prompting a warning Monday from the nonprofit Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. Cloud woman is acquitted, Blaine apartment explosion injures 2 people: Police, Woman killed, child ejected from vehicle in crash near Prior Lake, Stolen Kia high-speed chase ends with crash off bridge in Minneapolis, Man charged in St. Paul double fatal funeral shooting that killed chef, Competitive dance studio in North Minneapolis needs help to get to nationals, Minnesota lawmakers push for new board dedicated to household pets, Hyundai, Kia thefts: Twin Cities mayors, AG call for safety recall, Minnesota lawmakers propose dropping minimum markup on gas, Ranked-choice voting in Minnesota? We are creating the illusion of providing a lifeguard service, which I dont think is fair to the community or to the beach users.. Its nonstop. Boat sales have also spiked nationally, according to International Boat Industry magazine, which means there will be a lot of inexperienced first-time boat owners out there, Benjamin said. Floating means getting your head above water, becoming more buoyant, and taking deep breaths of air instead of short gulps of water while hyperventilating during a panic attack. 07/31/2020 WZZM Father drowns in Lake Michigan attempting to save his children Dave Benjamin, executive director of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, says theres a common belief that tourists are more likely to drown than locals. GLSRP recommends the flip, float, follow method for drowning survival: flip onto your back, float to keep your head above water and conserve energy and follow the safest path out of the water to safety. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in five people who die from drowning in the United States are children age 14 and younger. The report states that so far in 2018 there have been 105 drownings. Without lifeguards on duty to watch over those who choose to swim in Lake Michigan, experts are worried it could be a recipe for disaster. Nugent died Aug. 22 at MetroHealth Medical Center after getting caught in dangerous waves the day before at Walnut Beach. Meteotsunamis are sort of the sharks of the Great Lakes, Benjamin said. The experience of Michigan City is worth sharing today and could offer insight and a road map for Kenosha officials. The comparison showed 16% of fatal current incidents and 12% of reported rescues occurred on the same day that meteotsunamis were observed in the lake, according to the paper the team published. The record highs on Lake Superior were previously set in the . Read the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Projects full drowning summary atwww.glsrp.org/statistics. 06/06/2018 CBS 2 Mobile Weather Lab: Drowning Prevention CBS 2s Ed Curran is live with the Mobile Weather Lab to discuss drowning prevention. That lake accounts for nearly half of all drownings each year in the Great Lakes, due to a unique combination of factors such as population, wave effects, piers and weather patterns. That includes 105 drownings in the first 10 months of 2018, at least six more than any other year.