Science of Survival: Adrift
Outside Podcast
00:00
The Riptide
Riptides are narrow bands of current and usually surrounded on both sides by water pushing back towards land. They can move as fast as two meters per second, dragging swimmers, surfers, and even unlucky dogs out past the surf zone. Riptides kill hundreds of people each year - but they have nothing to do with tides. A rip is a current of water pushing back out to sea. Ript currents take that water back out.
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