This is National Drowning Prevention Week.
The death of a man in Frenchman’s Bay in Pickering last weekend – contributed to the surge in drownings in the Great Lakes this year.
Dave Benjamin – co-founder and executive director of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project tells myFM that prevention is critical since drowning happens quickly.
Hazards at the beach while swimming include an offshore wind that can push bathers to deeper water. Wave action and undertoes are also dangerous, even for an experienced swimmer.
Benjamin says last year their were 21 drownings in Lake Ontario alone on the Canadian and U.S. sides of the shared lake. In total, there were 108 drownings on the Great Lakes in 2020, up from the 97 recorded in 2019.
You can find addition information including drowning prevention videos, on the Great Lakes Surf Rescue project website
