City cautions against challenging sea conditions

With the full moon, stronger rip currents and possible swells, the City of Cape Town has cautioned beachgoers to exercise extreme caution.  

The City of Cape Town’s Recreation and Parks Department on Wednesday urged beachgoers to be particularly alert over the coming days.

With the arrival of the full moon, stronger rip currents and bigger sea swells are likely to be prevalent.

Lifeguards and ancillary services have had a busy few days in spite of the very windy conditions around the peninsula.

The only major incident involving bathers that was recorded over the past few days was a mass rescue at Monwabisi Beach, with three non-fatal drownings.

The patients were transported to Khayelitsha hospital for medical treatment.

According to City records, there have been four fatal drownings of bathers since 1 December 2023.

“It is of concern that all of the fatal drownings took place outside of designated bathing areas, or outside of lifeguard duty hours. We request the public to continue to swim only where and when lifeguards are on duty, between their red and yellow flags. Please also take heed of the warnings about rip currents and stronger swells in the days ahead.

“We are determined to provide safe spaces for our beachgoers, but we need the public to play their part too,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Patricia Van der Ross.

In terms of the Identikidz project, there were no challenges experienced over the past long weekend. Staff have tagged 48 957 children since the start of the project in mid-December, 65 of whom were reunited with their caregivers.

Over the Christmas long weekend, 5 095 children were tagged at Strand Beach, 3 715 at Muizenberg and 3 237 at Strandfontein.

The Identikidz project was established in 2016 by the City of Cape Town and is aimed at promoting child safety at beaches across Cape Town during the festive season. – SAnews.gov.za