| James Kon |
BASED on statistics, the average number of drowning cases at beaches for each year is between three to four cases. However last year, there was a jump to six cases following the recent drowning tragedy at the beach of the Berakas Forest Reserve.
In light of the high number of drowning cases, which are believed to be caused by rip currents – powerful currents of water moving away from the shore that can sweep swimmers out to the sea – the Beach Bunch with its partners held a Beach Safety Awareness Day for safer beaches and safer community, yesterday morning at Tungku Beach where there were more than 60 beachgoers during the long weekend.
Rizan Latif, the President of Beach Bunch, a non-governmental organisation founded with a vision to have better beaches for all including its coastal wildlife in an interview highlighted that the group wanted to raise awareness on beach safety especially on increasing the awareness of rip currents, which are a common cause of death in beach drowning not only in Brunei but also in other parts of the world.
“Rip currents can happen anytime of the year so it can happen not only during monsoon seasons but also during low tides of less than one metre. Brunei’s beaches like Tungku Beach, Berakas Beach, Meragang Beach and Muara Beach are known for their rip currents,” he said.
“The Beach Bunch has been informing beachgoers at Tungku to swim between the red and yellow flags, which are the safe areas while the red flags show the unsafe areas. If anyone is caught in a rip current, the troubled swimmer can raise their hand and the Tungku Beach Boardriders (surfers) who are on standby will try to help the swimmers. Members of the public can contact 995 if there is any emergency,” he added.
Members of the public buying drinks from some of the vendors raising funds for Beach Bunch’s lifesaving programme. – PHOTOS: JAMES KON
Rizan Latif, the President of Beach Bunch during the interview with the Bulletin.
Signage on rip currents put up at Tungku Beach.
The red and yellow flags that mark the areas safe for swimming.
There were also fire and rescue, paramedics and police personnel stationed at the beach during the event. This was a collaboration between Brunei Government and the community.
“Beach Bunch is the event owner while Empat.bn and the collective are the event organisers. We also have the support of the Tungku Beach Board Riders. We are running swimming and surfing clinics the whole day as well as first aid demonstrations. A total of 15 vendors are here as part of a charity drive to raise funds (donating 100 per cent of the proceeds) for the Beach Bunch’s lifesaving programme to buy safety equipment and flags as well as signage on rip currents to warn beach goers. The signage that provides information on rip currents will be installed on the beaches by early January,” the president said.
On the funds raised the president said that it will be for their lifesaving programme which will train and produce volunteer lifeguards who will be part-time lifeguards stationed at the beaches in the Brunei-Muara District during the weekend and public holidays.
“We noticed that the drowning cases happen usually in the weekend or during a public holiday. One of the main reasons people drown is that they don’t understand the sea’s condition and rip currents. They don’t know how to react when they’re caught in a rip current and there is lack of monitoring on the beaches. Therefore it is vital for people to know and understand how to react when caught in an emergency situation and we are here today to try to prevent people from drowning,” he added.
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