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Australia can be a dangerous place. Not because of its venomous spiders and snakes and angry crocs—but because of its expansive, picturesque and inviting beaches.

Around 80 people drown on Australian beaches each year. And rip currents are responsible on average for almost 30 of them. This is more than the average number of deaths each year due to bushfires, floods, cyclones and sharks combined.

Rip currents are also the main cause of the more than 10,000 rescues conducted each year by lifeguards, lifesavers and surfers.

Professor Rob Brander from UNSW Sydney’s School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences also leads the . He gained the nickname ‘Dr Rip’ for his visually dramatic releases of harmless purple dye into rip currents as part of his award winning community beach safety education program ‘’.

“Our goal is to educate all beachgoers with the knowledge to understand what rip currents are and how to identify them in order to avoid them—not just on Australian beaches, but on beaches around the world,” Prof. Brander says.

A rip current, or ‘rip’, is a strong, narrow, seaward flow of water that often occupies a deeper channel between shallow sandbars. Prof. Brander says to think of them as ‘rivers of the sea’.  

Rips occur on any beach with waves breaking across a surf zone, but they are difficult to spot without training and experience.

“An estimated 17,000 rips could be operating at any time along Australia’s 11,000 beaches,” Prof. Brander says.

“And the potential for getting caught in one is greatly enhanced by the fact that only four per cent of our beaches are patrolled by professional lifeguards or volunteer lifesavers—many people swim on unpatrolled beaches and outside of the flags.”

Prof. Brander has collaborated with to measure rip current flow behaviour, evaluate swimmer escape strategies, conduct surveys and interviews with rip current survivors and other beachgoers regarding their knowledge and understanding of beach hazards.

This collaboration has, and will continue to, save lives not only in Australia, but across the world.

“Our enduring research collaboration with Professor Rob Brander has led to significant developments in what we know about rip current behaviour and has guided how we promote rip current safety awareness within the community,” says Dr Jaz Lawes​​​​, the National Research Manager of Surf Life Saving Australia.

“Together we have raised awareness of the rip current hazard, bystander rescues and beach safety in general.”

“Over the long term, rip currents account for greater overall loss of human life in Australia than other high profile natural hazards. Yet they do not get anywhere near as much attention and dedicated funding that they deserve.”—Prof. Rob Brander.

Challenges & opportunities

Surf Life Saving Australia’s records show that half of beach drownings occur when a person is more than 50 kms from their home. Of the 55 people who drowned during the 2023/2024 summer, all were outside of the red and yellow flagged areas supervised by lifeguards and lifesavers.

Prof. Brander’s research has shown that people often choose to swim at unpatrolled beaches that are close to their holiday accommodation and are also quieter beaches away from the crowds.

“Australian beaches are arguably the best in world,” Prof. Brander says. But, “most of them have rip currents and almost 70 per cent of Australians visiting the coast cannot spot a rip.”

Though rip currents and people’s experiences in them are complex and varied, one natural yet fatal response to the strength of a rip—combined with a sense of being out of control and fear of the unknown—is panic.

“Rips don’t drown people, people drown in rips.”—Prof. Rob Brander.

Forward focused

Prof. Brander’s research with Surf Life Saving Australia has shown that there is no single message that is suitable for advising people how to react or escape when caught in a rip current. He believes that we need to go beyond the ‘swim between the flags’ message to tackle the problem of drownings in rips.

Surviving a rip can include an overall combination of floating, swimming and staying calm—yet communicating complex advice and for different audiences is still a challenge.

Prof. Brander says efforts should focus on prevention by improving awareness and understanding. His use of visuals through the release of purple dye into rips to show the movement of the current is an effective technique.

“For years I have been doing dye releases, or showing images and video of dye releases, as part of surf safety talks to the general public, primary and high school students,” Prof. Brander says.

Prof. Brander continues to engage with public audiences to increase an awareness and understanding of these deadly waters.

His research with Surf Lifesaving Australia will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of rip current and beach safety education, as well as the development and evaluation of beach safety interventions.  

“Our collaborations will go further, integrating AI and gamification to educate the community, as well as expanding beach safety at unpatrolled locations through evaluations of public rescue equipment,” says Dr Lawes.

Rip tips

• There is no such thing as undertow. Rips don’t pull people under the water, but rather flow seaward like a river
• Rip currents don’t always flow straight offshore. They can flow at an angle, zigzag, or along the beach before curving offshore
• Most rips sit in deeper channels between shallow sandbanks. Always spend a few minutes at the beach looking for dark gaps, almost like paths, heading out through the whitewater. Even though they may look safe, these gaps are probably rips
• Rips flow faster than most people can swim so don’t try and swim against them back to the beach
• If you are caught in a rip you should stay calm, float and signal for help
• Don’t get caught in the first place. Swim between the red and yellow flags and learn how to spot them.