COASTAL SAFETY REPORT 2019 SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA DROWNING SNAPSHOT
COASTAL & OCEAN DROWNING DEATHS
Location
AT THE BEACH ROCK/CLIFF OFFSHORE AT LEAST 5KM FROM A LIFESAVING SERVICE
Activity
54% 15% SWIMMING TAKING PHOTOS 13
8% 8% SCUBA DIVING ATTEMPTING A RESCUE SECTION NAME 03 FRONT COVER & INSIDE COVER PHOTO CREDITS: ALICE HEALY PHOTOGRAPHY ACTIVITY PARTICIPATION COASTAL ACTIVITY PARTICIPANTS
2019: SWIMMING/WADING 2019: FISHING
12 Rock
0 19 46K Land-based Rock & 585K 203K Swimming/ Land-based 0 Wading 1
Frequent Frequent Occasional Occasional
Figure 1 Figure 2 2019: SWIMMING/WADING PARTICIPATION BY 2019: FISHING PARTICIPATION BY TYPE AND FREQUENCY FREQUENCY
2019: SURFING 2019: WATERCRAFT
2
49 114K 1 51K Surfing Watercraft
Frequent Frequent Occasional Occasional
Figure 3 Figure 4 2019: SURFING PARTICIPATION BY FREQUENCY 2019: WATERCRAFT PARTICIPATION BY FREQUENCY
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 02 COASTAL SAFETY REPORT 2019 ACTIVITYPAGE PARTICIPATION HEADING COASTAL ACTIVITY PARTICIPANTS
2019: BOATING & PWC 2019: SNORKELLING & SCUBA DIVING
Boating 22 Snorkelling 1
PWC 190K 127K Scuba Diving Boating Snorkelling & & 20K 19K PWC Scuba 100 92 Frequent Frequent Occasional Occasional
Figure 5 Figure 6 2019: BOATING AND PWC PARTICIPATION BY FREQUENCY 2019: SNORKELLING AND SCUBA DIVING PARTICIPATION BY FREQUENCY
1 1 4 Overall 2 29
29 19 45% Ocean 22 15% Rate themselves 44 as beginner ocean Visit the coast at swimmers least once a week Once a week Beginner 40 Once a month Intermediate Once a year 41 Advanced Less often/Never Can’t say
Figure 7 Figure 8 2019: COASTAL VISITATION BY SA RESIDENTS 2019: REPORTED ABILITY TO SWIM IN THE OCEAN COMPARED TO OVERALL
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 03 ACTIVITY PARTICIPATION ACTIVITYPAGE HEADING PARTICIPATION COASTAL ACTIVITY PARTICIPANTS
Not very or not at all hazardous Somewhat hazardous Extremely or very hazardous
1 1 19 11 2 2 0
29 4 9 41 2 4 42 4 4 49 1 22 4 2 21 1 22 11 Swimming Wading Land-based Rock Fishing Surfing Watercraft Snorkelling Scuba Diving PWC Boating Fishing
Figure 9 2019: HOW HAZARDOUS DO AUSTRALIAN ADULTS THINK COASTAL ACTIVITIES ARE? Where data does not total 100%, respondents answered ‘Can’t say’.
Beginner Intermediate Advanced
9 1 19 2 19 24 42 0 4 4 4 2
1 2 0 22 2 19 2 1
Swimming/ Land-based Rock Fishing Surfing Watercraft Snorkelling Scuba Diving PWC Boating Wading Fishing
Figure 10 2019: REPORTED LEVEL OF EXPERTISE BY COASTAL ACTIVITY
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 04 COASTAL SAFETY REPORT 2019 RISK PERCEPTION PERCEPTIONS OF THE COAST AND COASTAL ACTIVITIES
HAZARDS ARE NOT TOP OF MIND WHEN 2 THINKING OF THE COAST
14 12 9
Beach Sand, Water Sea Fish, Sun, Peace, Ocean Relax, Fun sandy fishing sunshine quiet, relaxation, calm lifestyle
Figure 11 2019: THINGS THAT COME TO MIND WHEN THINKING OF THE COAST
76% OF RESPONDENTS CONSIDER RIP CURRENTS EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS OR VERY HAZARDOUS
Waves 67% Rocks / Rocky platforms OF SURVEY Other marine 1 stingers RESPONDENTS
Crocodiles 2 WOULD CONSULT
Sharks 2 LIFESAVERS &/OR
Tropical marine 4 LIFEGUARDS FOR stingers COASTAL SAFTEY Sun exposure INFORMATION Rip currents
Figure 12 2019: COASTAL FEATURES RATED AS EXTREMELY OR VERY HAZARDOUS BY ALL ADULTS
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 05 RISK PERCEPTION PAGE HEADING
DROWNING AND FATALITY
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 08 COASTAL SAFETY REPORT 2019 PAGE HEADING
09 DROWNING OVERVIEW 2004 –19: 15–YEAR REVIEW
15 1.0 1 1 12 12 0.8 10 9 9 9 0.6
6 0.4 Number (n) 4
Rate (per 100,000 pop.) 3 0.2
0 0.00 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Figure 13 2004–19: 15–YEAR TREND OF SA COASTAL AND OCEAN DROWNING DEATHS In 2018–19, the number of coastal and ocean drowning deaths in South Australia (SA) increased above the 2004–19 annual average of 8. This year, the rate per 100,000 population was 0.75, well above the average crude fatality rate of 0.47.
Swimming/Wading Attempting a Rescue 2004-19 2018-19 2004-19 2018-19 0.19 0.40 0.02 0.06 Boating & PWC Scuba Diving 2004-19 2018-19 2004-19 2018-19 0.12 0.00 0.02 0.06 Watercraft Snorkelling 2004-19 2018-19 2004-19 2018-19 0.02 0.06 0.02 0.00 Taking Photographs Fall 2004-19 2018-19 2004-19 2018-19 0.02 0.11 0.01 0.00
Figure 14 15–YEAR AVERAGE COMPARED TO 2018–19 COASTAL AND OCEAN DROWNING RATES BY ACTIVITY Drowning death rates (per 100,000 population) were increased from the 15–year average in swimming/wading, watercraft, taking photographs, scuba diving and attempting a rescue activities in 2018–19. There was a decrease from the average for boating and PWC, falls and snorkelling activities.
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 0810 COASTAL SAFETY REPORT 2019 2004–19 COASTAL & OCEAN DROWNING DEATHS
2 2 2
2 2 2 11
2 ADELAIDE 10 2 4 2
2
2
AVERAGE AVERAGE FATALITY RATE Attempting a Rescue Rock Fishing NUMBER Boating and PWC Scuba Diving Watercraft Fall Snorkelling 4 Multiple instances per Jump Swimming/Wading activity at the same Land-based Fishing Taking Photographs location 0.47 Other Unknown Capital city 8 PER 100,000 POPULATION
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 09 DROWNING OVERVIEW 2004-19 DROWNING OVERVIEW 2004–19: 15–YEAR REVIEW
15 30% 5 YEAR 1YEAR 10 YEAR 5 YEAR 10 YEAR 15 YEAR 25% 15 YEAR 12
20% )
n 9 (
r
e 15% b m u Percentage N 6 10%
3 5%
0
0 July June May April March August January October 1-2am 2-3am 3-4am 4-5am 5-6am 6-7am 7-8am 8-9am 1-2pm 2-3pm 3-4pm 4-5pm 5-6pm 6-7pm 7-8pm 8-9pm February 9-10am December 12-1pm 9-10pm November 12-1 am September 10-11am 11-12am 11-12pm 10-11pm
Figure 15 Figure 16 2004–19: 5 YEAR, 10 YEAR & 15 YEAR COMPARISON OF 2004–19: COASTAL & OCEAN DROWNING DEATHS COASTAL AND OCEAN DROWNING DEATHS BY TIME BY MONTH (n=117) Incident time was known for 75% of cases (n=88). Most SA The highest percentage of coastal and ocean drowning deaths drowning deaths (2004–19) have occurred in the afternoon occurred during summer. In 2018–19 most occurred in January, between 1-7pm. while historically more drowning deaths have occurred in December. Shading denotes seasons.
4 9 80% Swimming/Wading MALE 39% Boating Snorkelling & Scuba Diving Swimming/ Taking Photographs Land-based & Rock Fishing Wading Watercraft Attempting a Rescue 20% Fall FEMALE 2 Non-aquatic Transport Unknown
Figure 17 2004–19: COASTAL AND OCEAN DROWNING DEATHS 2004–19: KEY DEMOGRAPHICS BY ACTIVITY (n=117) The majority of coastal and ocean drowning deaths in SA 15-24 & 45-54 occurred when swimming/wading (n=46), boating (n=30), snorkelling and scuba diving (n=9) and taking YEAR OLD SWIMMERS/WADERS YEAR OLD BOATERS photographs (n=6).
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 10 COASTAL SAFETY REPORT 2019 Female 15 Male 1.8
1.5 )
12 . p o p
1.2 0 0 ) 0 n
9 , (
0 r e 0 b 1
0.9 r m e u p ( N 6 e t
0.6 a R 3 0.3
0 0.0 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85+
Figure 18 2004–19: 15–YEAR TREND OF COASTAL DROWNING DEATHS BY AGE AND GENDER (n=117) 50–54 year olds represent the highest number of drowning deaths, while 80–84 year olds represent the highest rate (1.37 drowning deaths per 100,00pop.). Overall, 80% (n=94) of drowning deaths were male.
10
2 10% 23% 2 Drugs 9 Medical Injury 2 Alcohol Medical Alcohol & Drugs Medical & Injury Drugs None None
Figure 19 Figure 20 2004–19: COASTAL AND OCEAN DROWNING DEATHS 2004–19: COASTAL AND OCEAN DROWNING DEATHS INVOLVING INJURY &/OR MEDICAL EPISODES INVOLVING ALCOHOL &/OR DRUGS Medical episodes and injuries were contributing factors in 31% Alcohol and/or drugs were known to contribute to 18% (n=17) (n=26) of drowning deaths. drowning deaths.
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 11 DROWNING OVERVIEW 2004-19 COASTAL FATALITIES 2004–19: 15–YEAR REVIEW
oastal drowning deaths have long held the focus of water safety research due to the severe, accidental and C preventable nature of these incidents. While drowning 20 makes up a major part of coastal fatalities there are a significant 1 29 proportion of unintentional coastal fatalities which are not drowning-related. Critically for surf lifesavers, lifeguards and first responders there is no distinguishing between a drowning or other type of coastal fatality. However, until now there had been no research to investigate the number of and differences that may impact to response, training needs and equipment. Drowning death Just over half of all coastal fatalities in South Australia are Unintentional fatality drowning deaths (n=117) which leaves a significant number Intentional fatality of other fatalities that occur on the coast. The impact of this is 0 1,000km significant with forty-nine per cent (n=112) of all coastal fatalities SCALE (n=229) not drowning-related. This means that for each drowning death, there is another coastal fatality in South Australia. Excluding intentional deaths this number changes to twenty-nine percent (n=67) of deaths not due to drowning. For unintentional fatalities, seventy per cent (n=83) occurred Figure 21 outside of summer. Boating and PWC were the highest activity 2004–19: SA PERCENTAGE OF DROWNING DEATHS, (36%, n=24), followed by snorkelling and scuba diving (12%, n=8). UNINTENTIONAL AND INTENTIONAL COASTAL FATALITIES Forty-three per cent occurred at a beach (n=29), followed by eighteen per cent at offshore locations (n=12). Males were over- represented with 70-74 year old males identified as at a higher risk than other age groups.
Female 10 10 Male 0.80
8 0.64 6 0.48 4 4 4 4 0.32 Number (n)
2 2 2 Rate (per 100,000 pop.) 2 0.16 1
0 0.00 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Figure 22 2004–19: SA 15-YEAR TREND OF UNINTENTIONAL COASTAL FATALITIES (n=67) The South Australian unintentional coastal fatality numbers and crude rates for 2004–19 are illustrated above. Unintentional coastal fatalities include deaths other than drowning deaths (such as medical incidents, accidents, or marine creature), excluding homicide and self-harm related incidents.
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 12 COASTAL SAFETY REPORT 2019 10 8 88% )
n MALE (
6 r e b m u 4 N
2 12% FEMALE 0 July June May April March August January October February December November September
Figure 23 2004–19: SA UNINTENTIONAL COASTAL FATALITIES 2004–19: KEY DEMOGRAPHICS IN BY MONTH (n=67) UNINTENTIONAL SA COASTAL FATALITIES The highest number of unintentional fatalities occurred in the month of December (n=10), followed by September and January (n=8). Seventy per cent occurred outside of the summer months. 45-54 & 70-74 Shading denotes seasons. YEARS OLDS YEARS OLD MALES
12 4 9 1
10 10 1 Boating & PWC Snorkelling & Scuba Diving 4 4 36% Land-based Fishing Non-aquatic Transport Beach 4 Watercraft 43% Boating & 1 Offshore 4 PWC Fall Beach Jetty Swimming/Wading Port/Marina 12 Attempting a Rescue Bay 9 Other 1 Rock/Cliff Unknown River/Creek
Figure 24 Figure 25 2004–19: SA UNINTENTIONAL FATALITIES BY ACTIVITY 2004–19: LOCATION OF SA UNINTENTIONAL (n=67) COASTAL FATALITIES (n=67) The majority of unintentional coastal fatalities in SA occurred The majority of unintentional coastal fatalities occurred at a during boating and PWC (n=24), snorkelling and scuba diving beach (n=29), offshore (n=12) or jetty (n=9). (n=8), land-based fishing (n=6), and using non-aquatic transport (n=4).
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 13 COASTAL FATALITIES Key to Coastal Incidents
Coastal drowning death
Coastal aquatic fatality
Coastal drowning death or aquatic fatality SOUTH AUSTRALIA OVERVIEW 2018–19: 1–YEAR REVIEW
13 11 DROWNING COASTAL 13 | 11 DEATHS FATALITIES 13 0 7 4 COASTAL OCEAN INTENTIONAL UNINTENTIONAL
Adelaide 3 1 AQUATIC NON AQUATIC Coastal drowning death Coastal fatality 0 1,000km SCALE
Figure 26 2018–19: SA COASTAL DROWNING DEATHS AND FATALITIES In 2018–19 there were 13 coastal and ocean drowning deaths and 11 coastal fatalities. Red numbers indicate coastal and ocean drowning deaths. Blue numbers indicate coastal fatalities.
54% 2 Swimming/ 4 69% Swimming/Wading Wading Taking Photographs Beach 9 Attempting a Rescue 1 Scuba Diving Beach Watercraft Rock/Cliff Unknown Offshore
Figure 27 Figure 28 2018–19: COASTAL & OCEAN DROWNING DEATHS BY 2018–19: LOCATION OF COASTAL AND OCEAN DROWNING ACTIVITY (n=13) DEATHS (n=13) The majority of coastal and ocean drowning death in SA occurred The majority of coastal and ocean drowning deaths in SA while swimming/wading, and taking photographs. occurred at a beach, rock/cliff or an offshore location.
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 14 COASTAL SAFETY REPORT 2019 35%
30%
25%
20%
15% Percentage 10%
5%
0 Monday Tueday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Figure 29 2018–19: SA COASTAL & OCEAN DROWNING DEATHS BY DAY OF THE WEEK (n=13 ) Of the 13 coastal and ocean drowning deaths, 31% (n=4) occurred on a Saturday, higher than the 15 year average of 19%, followed by 23% (n=3) on a Sunday equal to the 15 year average. Saturday and Sunday are shaded to indicate traditional patrol days. Dark- red squares indicate the 15-year average drowning deaths.
2 54% 85% More than 4 5km COASTAL DROWNING 2 DEATHS OCCURRED < 1km 1 - 5km DURING THE PATROL > 5km SEASON BUT ONLY COASTAL DROWNING Figure 30 2018–19: DISTANCE FROM DROWNING LOCATION 8% DEATHS OCCURRED TO A LIFESAVING SERVICE (n=13) AT A PATROLLED Three individuals (23%) drowned within 1km of the nearest LOCATION lifesaving service. Seven incidents (54%) happened further than 5km from a lifesaving service.
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 15 DROWNING & FATALITIES OVERVIEW 2018-19 DROWNING DEATHS REVIEW OF TRENDS OVER TIME
Table 1 TOP 10 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS (LGA) OVER TIME Top 10 LGAs in which most drowning deaths occurred in the last 5 (2014–19), 10 (2009–19) and 15 (2004–19) years. Bold type indicates LGAs prevalent across all three time periods and are represented in Figure 31.
5 YEAR (2014–19) TOTAL % 10 YEAR (2009–19) TOTAL % 15 YEAR (2004–19) TOTAL % Holdfast Bay 6 15% Onkaparinga 7 9% Victor Harbor 10 9% Onkaparinga 5 11% Holdfast Bay 6 9% Onkaparinga 9 8% Alexandrina 4 9% Alexandrina 5 7% Port Adelaide Enfield 9 8% Yorke Peninsula 4 9% Charles Sturt 5 7% Charles Sturt 8 7% Copper Coast 3 6% Victor Harbor 5 7% Yorke Peninsula 8 7% Victor Harbor 3 6% Grant 5 7% Holdfast Bay 7 9% Kingston 3 6% Yorke Peninsula 5 7% Yankalilla 6 5% Lower Eyre Peninsula 3 6% Yankalilla 4 5% Grant 6 5% Grant 2 4% Copper Coast 3 4% Alexandrina 6 5% Charles Sturt 2 4% Wattle Range 3 4% Copper Coast 6 5%
15% 5 year 10 year 15 year 7 12% 5
4 7 4 9% 10 7 9 5 5 8 5 5 5 8 3 11 3 6% Percentage 6 6 6 2 3 2 3%
0 Alexandrina Charles Sturt Copper Coast Grant Holdfast Bay Onkaparinga Victor Harbor Yorke Peninsula
Figure 31 COMPARISON OF PREVALENT LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS (LGA) OVER TIME Trends over time in percentages of drowning deaths for eight prevalent LGAs in South Australia. Numbers above bars are total drowning deaths for each time period.
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 16 COASTAL SAFETY REPORT 2019 2018 -19 2014 -19 2009 -19 2004 -19 DROWNING DEATH FATALITY
4 201 –19 2
2014 –19 10
2009 –19
SWIMMING/WADING 9 2004 –19 4
201 –19 2
2 2014 – 19 2
2 2009 –19 4 BOATING & PWC 2 2004 –19
201 –19 2
11 2014 –19
2009 –19 1 SCUBA DIVING & SNORKELLING 2004 –19 12
1 201 –19
4 2014 –19
2009 –19 TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS 2004 –19
201 –19
9 2014 –19 10 LAND-BASED & 2009 –19 ROCK FISHING 4 2004 –19 9
201 –19
2 2014 –19 10
1 2009 –19 WATERCRAFT 2004 –19 4
201 –19
4 2014 –19
2009 –19 2 ATTEMPTED RESCUE 2004 –19 1
201 –19 2
2 2014 –19 10
4 2009 –19
2004 –19 4 FALLS & JUMPS
Figure 32 ACTIVITY TRENDS OVER TIME OF ACTIVITY BEING UNDERTAKEN WHEN DROWNING DEATHS OCCURRED 15 year (2004–19), 10 year (2009–19) and 5 year (2014–19) average percentages of drowning deaths compared with the reported percentage for 2018–19.
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 17 DROWNING DEATHS - TRENDS GLOSSARY
Adult For the purpose of this report, adults refer to a person 16 Drugs A medicine or other substance which has a physiological years of age and over. effect when ingested or otherwise introduced to the body. The Advanced Resuscitation Techniques A certification providing category includes therapeutic, over-the-counter and the skills and knowledge required to use specialised equipment illicit drugs. in the provision of resuscitation in line with the Australian Emergency response An action taken by an SLS entity Resuscitation Council (ARC) guidelines. in response to a call for assistance from an emergency ALS Australian Lifeguard Service. management organisation. Apply First Aid A certification providing the skills and knowledge Falls (trips/slips) Events that result in a person coming to rest required to provide a first aid response to a casualty. inadvertently on the ground or other lower level. Attempting a Rescue Trying to retrieve a person in distress and Fatality A fatal incident arising from circumstances other than deliver them to a place of safety. drowning (e.g. medical condition, injury, self-harm, AWSC Australian Water Safety Council also Australian Water marine creature). Safety Conference. First Aid Assessments and interventions that can be performed AWSS Australian Water Safety Strategy. by a bystander (or by the victim) with minimal to no equipment. Bay A body of water partially enclosed by land but with a wide Fishing The act of attempting to catch fish from anywhere except mouth, affording access to the sea. coastal rock platforms. Beach A wave-deposited accumulation of sediment – usually Foreign ethnicity Describes an individual who identifies with sand, but ranging in size up to boulders deposited between the a cultural group other than Australian based on heritage, upper swash limit and wave base. language or shared customs. This identification is extrapolated Blackspot An area with a concentration of coastal/ocean from reported data such as the individuals’ country of birth and incidents and a high probability/risk of ongoing recurrence. the main language spoken at home. Boating Using either a powered vessel or sailing boat for pleasure Hazard A source of potential harm. and/or fishing. ILS International Life Saving Federation. Bystander A person who is present at an incident but not part of Incident Any unplanned event requiring lifesaving it initially. services intervention. Coastal Describes the foreshore, seabed, coastal water and air Inland An area that is beyond the line of mean high water or within space above a large body of water (harbour/bay/inlet), including a landward distance of five times the width of the coastal inlet/ areas up to 3nm offshore and of which the landward boundary river mouth. is the line of mean high water, except where that line crosses Inshore The coastal water area within 500m of the low tide area of a river/inlet, the landward boundary at that point shall be the the foreshore. point upstream that is calculated by multiplying the width International Describes an individual who is confirmed to reside of the river/inlet mouth by five. (Adopted from the Resource overseas and/or is a temporary visitor to Australia. Management Amendment Act 1993 New Zealand). IRB Inflatable rescue boat. COD Cause of death. IRD Incident report database. A web-based portal used by SLS Crude drowning rate A comparative rate of drowning to the size services to electronically record incident reports. of the population in a given area. Jetty An artificial structure that projects out into the water Dangerous surf warning An alert issued by the Bureau of from land. Meteorology indicating that surf conditions in an area are unsafe JRB Jet rescue boat. for coastal activities. The warnings are calculated based on wave Jump(ing) The activity of launching off a cliff, rock platform, pier, height, swell direction and swell period and must exceed the jetty. Aka tombstoning (UK/Europe/North America). predetermined limitations to be in effect. Lake An inland body of water surrounded by land. Drowning The process of experiencing respiratory impairment Lifeguard An individual who undertakes patrols at a beach or from submersion/immersion in liquid; outcomes are classified another aquatic environment. He/she is typically a salaried as death, morbidity and no morbidity. member, qualified in public safety and aquatic rescue. Drowning Death A fatal incident arising from the process of Lifejacket A buoyant or inflatable garment or device designed to respiratory impairment as a result of submersion/immersion keep a person afloat in water and increase their likelihood in liquid. of survival.
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 18 COASTAL SAFETY REPORT 2019 Lifesaving Service A coordinated group that exists to provide Rock Fishing The act of attempting to catch fish from a coastal aquatic safety services to the public. This includes Surf Life rock platform. Saving Clubs, Lifeguards, SurfCom, RWCs, RIBs, JRBs, ORBs, Rock shelf A section of rock above or below the water level that Rescue Helicopters and 4WD units. projects out from the coast. Local Government Area (LGA) Also known as local councils, RWC Rescue water craft. LGAs include cities, town, shires, municipalities or boroughs. Scuba Diving Swimming underwater with the aid of scuba Marina a man-made boat basin having sea walls or breakwaters equipment for recreational or commercial purposes. and offering dockage and other services for water vessels. Service season and hours Vary between states due to climatic Medical For the purpose of this report, medical refers to an factors, but in the context of this report, the season is for the aquatic incident that was caused by a medical episode, e.g. period July 2018 to June 2019. a heart attack or epileptic seizure. Snorkelling Swimming with a snorkel and face mask. Includes NCIS National Coronial Information System. freediving and spearfishing. Non-aquatic fatality Non-aquatic fatalities refer to incidents SurfCom SLS radio communications centre that assists in which have occurred at a coastal location but not in the managing the communications of lifesaving operations and aquatic environment. data collection. Non-aquatic transport Any form of transport that is not meant Surf lifesaver An individual who undertakes patrols at a beach or for the water such as airplanes, bicycles, and motor vehicles. other aquatic environment. He/she is typically a non-salaried Offshore Describes the coastal water area beyond the surf zone member qualified in public safety and aquatic rescue. and inshore area from 500m to 200nm. Surf Life Saving Club A SLS affiliated not-for-profit organisation Ocean The seabed, water and air space above the water between that has volunteer members who provide coastal safety services 3nm and 12nm (the Australian Territorial Sea) offshore. to the community. ORB Offshore rescue boat. Swimming Moving through water by moving the body or parts of Other An uncommon known activity not otherwise listed (e.g., the body. paragliding, aircraft crash). Taking photographs The act of taking photographs while sight- Patrol Service undertaken to monitor activities in/around an seeing aquatic environment and respond accordingly through either Territorial seas The seaward limits of Australia’s maritime zones, preventative actions or rescue operations. from the coastline to 12nm from the low tide line. Patrol flags Red/yellow horizontally divided flags which are Total Service Plan An assessment of current and future lifesaving set after performing a risk assessment to determine the most resources, trends, national blackspots and coastal safety issues suitable area for swimming. The flags identify a zone for combined with evidence-based mitigation strategies to address swimming and bodyboarding within a patrolled location. these issues. Patrolled location A location supervised by a lifesaving service. Toxicity The degree to which a chemical substance or a particular Preventative action Direct action taken to reduce or eliminate mixture of substances is toxic or poisonous to an organism. In the probability of a specific rescue, first aid or other reportable the context of this report, toxicity refers to alcohol or drug used incident from happening in the future. by a drowning victim. PWC Personal water craft, also known as jet ski. Unintentional Fatality Include deaths other than drowning Rescue The retrieval of a person in distress, delivering them to deaths (such as medical incidents, accidents, or marine a place of safety and the application of first aid and basic life creature), however for this report exclude homicide and self- support as may be required. harm related incidents. Resuscitation Prevention or restoration of life by establishing and Wading Walking through water while partially immersed. maintaining a person’s airway, breathing and circulation. Watercraft A piece of non-powered recreational equipment used RIB Rigid-hull inflatable boat. in water. Examples include surf boards, stand-up paddle boards, Rip current A seaward flowing current of water moving through boogie boards, windsurfers or kayaks. a surf zone. River A natural stream of water flowing into an ocean, lake or other body of water. Rock/Cliff A rock platform that may or may not have a high steep face.
19 GLOSSARY REFERENCE
METHODOLOGY discrepancy in the detail collected from different data sources. The South Australia Coastal Safety Report 2019 contains Deaths are excluded as a coastal drowning if they are reported information on the South Australia community behaviours and as ‘intentional deaths’, they are inland locations, or ‘drowning/ attitudes to the coast; and coastal drowning deaths and other immersion’ is not a contributory factor as noted by the coroner. fatalities that occurred in South Australia from 1 July 2018 to 30 Coastal incidents that are deemed intentional or not due to June 2019. This information is correct as of 7 August 2019. All drowning/immersion are logged as coastal fatalities instead. care is taken to ensure the statistical information included within The authors are responsible for the representation of this data in this report is correct. However, pending the outcome of ongoing this report. coronial investigations and as SLSSA update their operational information, this data may be amended. Data in figures may not DROWNING DATA LIMITATIONS always add up to 100% due to rounding. Over years of investigation as part of the NCIS process, some cases are amended prior to their closure, resulting in changes THE AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY ANALYSIS to the classification of cases in our datasets. Therefore, the Information about community swimming ability, behaviours and number of coastal drowning deaths published in this report attitudes to coastal safety, risk perceptions, safety strategies may be different from annual totals previously reported. In and rescues was gathered from the SLSA National Coastal an effort to produce a timely report on our current year’s data Safety Survey. Conducted by Omnipoll Market Research, the we acknowledge that these figures will change. Each year, the latest survey was run online over the period 10 - 23 April 2019. changes that occur in the previous year’s report will be made The study was carried out in compliance with AS-ISO 20252 - transparent in the National Coastal Safety Report. The data in Market, Social and Opinion Research. To reflect the population this current report are not the final figures as nationally 70% of distribution, results were post-weighted (on age, gender, 2018–19 coastal/ocean drowning deaths and 44% of 2018-19 geographic strata and education) and projected to Australian other fatalities reported remain open cases, with 13% of all cases Bureau of Statistics data. The Australian population aged 16 and do not yet have a cause of death (COD) listed. Once NCIS closes a above (the reference population for this survey) is 18,712,000. case, SLSA modifies those with unknown intent and those where Data from South Australia participants was extracted, analysed the cause of death is not drowning, from ‘coastal drowning’ to and presented within this report. ‘coastal fatality’. The incidents are included in our annual totals and analysis, and they will remain so until a COD is listed other CAPABILITY AND RESCUE ANALYSIS than drowning/immersion. SurfGuard, the Incident Report Database (IRD) and SurfCom management system (SurfCom) are web-based applications SUGGESTED CITATION: Surf Life Saving Australia (2019) South and part of a suite of applications that enable members, Australia Coastal Safety Report 2019. SLSA: Sydney. clubs, branches, state offices and SLSA to enter and access SLS operational (including rescues and first aids), capability REFERENCES (including assets and services), educational and administrative • Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2019, Australian Demographic data. Information was extracted from SurfGuard to identify how Statistic Tables, cat. no. 3101.0, accessed 14 August many rescues were performed by volunteers, lifeguards and 2019, https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/ lifesaving services during 2018-19; and how many active surf DetailsPage/3101.0Dec%202018?OpenDocument#Time lifesavers and award holders there were during 2018-19. • SLSA National Coastal Safety Survey (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). Newspoll/Omnipoll Online Omnibus April 2014, DROWNING AND FATALITY DATA ANALYSIS 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019. SLSA collects incident data from SurfGuard, the IRD, SurfCom, • SLSA Annual Reports. the National Coronial Information System (NCIS) and by monitoring media reports for coastal and ocean incidents. The information was verified with the assistance of Surf Life Saving South Australia state office. The following variables are used to match fatal incidents from more than one data source: incident date; location; age; gender; and incident description. The NCIS is considered the ‘gold standard’ when there is a
SURF LIFE SAVING SOUTH AUSTRALIA 20 COASTAL SAFETY REPORT 2019 © 2019 SURF LIFE SAVING AUSTRALIA This publication is copyright. Except as expressly provided in the Copyright Act 1968 and the Copyright Amendment Act 2006, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval systems or transmitted by any means (including electronic, mechanical, microcopying, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission from Surf Life Saving Australia.
For enquiries concerning reproduction, contact SLSA on: phone 02 9215 8000; email: [email protected]
Every attempt has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright, but in some cases this may not have been possible. Surf Life Saving Australia apologises for any accidental infringements and would welcome any information to redress the situation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SLSA wishes to thank the following people and organisations for their contribution to the National Coastal Safety Report 2019: the Australian Government: Department of Health; National Coronial Information System: Leanne Daking; Omnipoll: Frederic Anne; Surf Life Saving South Australia: David Bacchuis, Sonya Williamson.
This report was compiled by Shane Daw, General Manager Coastal Safety, Jasmin Lawes, Researcher, Nicole Cooney, Project Coordinator - Public Safety
REFERENCE 21 METHODOLOGY DROWNING SNAPSHOT
COASTAL & OCEAN DROWNING DEATHS
Location
AT THE BEACH ROCK/CLIFF OFFSHORE AT LEAST 5KM FROM A LIFESAVING SERVICE
Activity
54% 15% SWIMMING TAKING PHOTOS 13
8% 8% SCUBA DIVING ATTEMPTING A RESCUE