PCB ranked in ‘Most Dangerous Beaches in America’

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) -It’s a new study, making rounds on news outlets across the world. Travel Lens has created a top 10 list of what the website claims are the most dangerous beaches in the united states. On that top 10 list sits Panama City Beach at number four.

In the study, Travel Lens shows they looked at surf zone fatalities and shark attacks, since 2010. It also included the number of hurricanes dating back to 1851.

In the top 10 list, PCB ranked the highest in fatalities with 24.

Last year, Panama City Beach Fire officials say they responded to six drownings. However, they say one was in a pool.

Officials say lifeguards entered the water 2,000 times to help swimmers in dangerous situations.

“We like to think our lifeguards are the most aggressive in trying to keep people safe. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen but we make the most aggressive push to get folks educated and into a safer spot that we can,” PCB Deputy Fire Chief Justin Busch said.

Busch also said don’t let this top 10 list discourage you from visiting. He said PCB’s beaches are safe because of all the safety measures that are in place.

“This is a safe beach. We always do advocate for folks to swim at lifeguarded beaches, which there is one at the Russell-Fields Pier,” Busch said.

Lifeguards will be out on the beach from April until October. However, anytime you go to the beach you need to pay attention to the flag warning system.

“There is a multitude of ways that they can get that information, on our city’s Facebook page also the TDC offers information and they can find that on our fire department page,” Busch said.

So the next time you visit, swim at a guarded beach and know if two red flags are flying to stay out of the water. Also, make sure you understand how to swim out of a rip current. Officials say if you get caught in a rip current, don’t fight it and try to swim parallel to the shore to get out of it.

Copyright 2023 WJHG. All rights reserved.