The National Weather Service Miami (NWS Miami) confirmed this Thursday that several people have died and others have been injured due to rip currents and dangerous surf along the southeast coast of Florida over the past two weeks, and warned that conditions remain hazardous.
"The dangerous conditions at the beaches continue today along the east coast of South Florida, confirmed by beach cameras and videos on social media. Unfortunately, we have had several deaths and injuries related to rip currents and hazardous surf over the past two weeks. If you have any doubts, do not venture into the water," the agency posted on its official account.
Among the documented fatal cases, one stands out: Ryan Jennings, a 46-year-old father from North Yarmouth, Maine, who died on April 1 in Juno Beach while rescuing two of his children caught in a rip current.
The incident occurred around 3:25 p.m. in the 1000 block of Ocean Drive, in an area without lifeguard supervision.
Jennings managed to throw one of his sons to the shore and keep the other one out of the water, but he became exhausted and was pulled unconscious from the sea by rescuers and witnesses.
He was transferred to Jupiter Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, reported ABC.
On April 5, another father of three drowned in Pompano Beach while rescuing his children from a rip current.
He was found unconscious near 10 N. Pompano Beach Blvd. and was taken to Broward Health North, where he died despite resuscitation efforts.
The volume of rescues during this period has been extraordinary. Just in Miami-Dade, between March 29 and April 5, there were 509 water rescue incidents, of which 330 —approximately 65%— involved rip currents.
According to Local 10, during the Easter weekend, Hollywood Ocean Rescue performed 20 rescues of 33 individuals, Fort Lauderdale exceeded 100 rescues, and Miami-Dade recorded over 240 rescues in just those two days, reported Miami Herald.
The main meteorological cause has been a stationary front with persistent northeast winds of up to 35 mph, which generated waves between five and ten feet (1.5 to three meters) and high-risk currents in the counties of Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade.
This Thursday, the water in Palm Beach was described by meteorologist James Wieland as "cloudy and brown with brown foam" and conditions as "dangerous," highlighting the persistence of the phenomenon.
The NWS Miami had issued the high rip current risk alert since March 30, extending it multiple times until this Thursday. Despite the red flags and official warnings, swimmers continued to enter the water, resulting in a high number of rescues and fatalities.
This episode adds to a recurring pattern in Florida: in June 2023, 12 deaths from rip currents were recorded within just two weeks, and in April 2025, a 12-year-old boy was swept away in Fort Lauderdale.
Rip currents cause more than 100 deaths annually in the United States and account for over 80% of rescues at beaches with surf, according to the NWS itself.
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