NSW has recorded a 22% spike in coastal drowning deaths over the 2018-19 year with 44 people tragically drowning along the NSW coast.
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Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW) has documented this worrying increase in fatalities in the 2019 Surf Life Saving NSW Coastal Safety Report, which details coastal drowning figures and identifies trends and areas of concern for the coming summer.
Key findings of the report include:
- 86% of coastal drowning victims were male
- 59% of drownings occurred at a beach location
- 18% of coastal drownings were attributed to rock fishing
- 7% of those who drowned were attempting to rescue someone else
- there was an increase in drowning deaths involving scuba diving or snorkelling
"The near-record drowning toll last year has our surf lifesavers on high alert," SLSNSW CEO Steven Pearce said.
Last year, almost half of the total drownings occurred during summer. At one point we were recording a drowning every two or three days."
Surf Life Saving NSW has been rolling out new technology and equipment to help save lives this summer, and Mr Pearce hopes it will make a difference.
"We have rolled out new rescue equipment as part of a major funding package from the NSW Government, including additional jet skis and support operations vehicles," he said.
"Combined with drones which are our eyes in the sky, these increased surveillance and response measures will give our volunteers a significant boost to their capability.
"Surf Life Saving is increasingly in demand when emergencies happen on the coast, and people's lives are at risk. Our volunteers now provide a major rescue capability way beyond the red and yellow flags."
Emergency callouts also increased, with the SLSNSW State Operations Centre logging 625 requests for assistance from emergency services compared to 588 the year prior.
Additional technology measures looking to be trialled this summer include Permanent Emergency Response Beacons at and a trial of Beach Wifi technology that will deliver safety information in a range of languages and real-time hazard warnings.
Drownings by NSW Branch - TOTAL 44
- Far North Coast 5
- North Coast 7
- Mid North Coast 4
- Lower North Coast 1
- Hunter 3
- Central Coast 0
- Sydney Northern Beaches 2
- Sydney 15
- Illawarra 1
- South Coast 5
- Far South Coast 1
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