Transcript of What you need to know to keep your family safe from rip currents during vacation

Have you ever had to go in the water and actually save someone from drowning?

Thousands of times. This is year 41 for me. So I've done it since I was 16 years old. Listen, it's Mother Nature. You got to respect the ocean. I think people are not being as aware as they should be.

Rich Vurosky knows just how important his job is. Good job, guys. He's been an ocean lifeguard on the shores of Long Beach, New York, for decades. During the busy summer season, a day of fun in the sun can quickly take a dark turn. That's why his team does extensive training for water rescues.

And then these three guards right here will pull them in.

Demonstrating how to save swimmers from one of the biggest dangers at the beach, rip currents.

We want to make sure they're thorough in every part of lifeguards. We want everybody here to come to the beach, but we also want everybody to leave the beach. That's one of the things that we take a lot of pride in. You only swim when lifeguards are on duty. You should not be in the water when lifeguards are not there.

In the past few weeks, dangerous and sometimes fatal encounters on beaches across the country.

A day of swimming in Lake Michigan quickly turned into catastrophe.

A couple from Pennsylvania drowned off the Martin County Coast when they got caught in a rip current.

Rip currents are jets of water that can occur anywhere you have breaking waves. They can extend about 100 yards off shore, so the length of a football field or more. And they can reach speeds of about 5 miles per hour, which I know probably doesn't sound that fast, but that's roughly the speed of the top Olympic swimmers.

According to a new report from the CDC, drowning deaths in the United States are on the rise following decades of decline. The exact cause for the spike, experts say, is unclear. But what they do know, the water is getting rougher. Experts say about 100 of people drown from rip currents along beaches in the United States each year, and more than 80% of beach rescues involve these hazards. So far this year, at least 19 people have died from rip currents.

Rip currents are caused by waves, and The larger the waves, the more likely you are to have hazardous rip currents. And there's some evidence that suggests that over time, waves are getting larger due to climate impacts. And so it's possible that over time, that increase in wave height could lead to an increase in rip currents.

And as Hurricane Barrel makes landfall in the Caribbean, the earliest Category 4 storm on record to form in the Atlantic, it raises concerns over treacherous rip currents, forming more often, even hundreds of miles away.

It might be a nice sunny day. It's not obvious that it's hazardous. But that storm that's hundreds of miles offshore is making large waves, which eventually make their way to the Coast and potentially drive strong rip currents. Noah predicts that this This is going to be an above-normal hurricane season. Even if those storms don't hit the Coast, it would likely encourage an increase in rip current hazard this year.

In Queens, New York, at Jacob Rees Beach, caution amongst beachgoers, especially for the youngest ones.

We take turns making sure that he's safe in any type of danger. We're on top of him.

Over the weekend, two teenagers who went missing in these waters earlier this month were believed to be found dead.

I want to be protected. There are lifeguards here, but we have no control of the ocean. You don't.

In Florida, near Panama City Beach, heartbreak in the waters. In just 48 hours, rip currents left four people dead. And on Florida's East Coast, this couple from Philadelphia, traveling with six children, also killed while taking a swim in the Atlantic Ocean.

They stepped right into a rip tile, according to our witnesses, and immediately were taken over by the power of the ocean.

18:00 to Bender Park for report of a drowning victim.

Even in landlocked states, dangerous water conditions can claim lives. 17-year-old Muhammad Hassan was caught in a rip tide in Lake Michigan in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. There was a lot of beachgoers, bystanders, activity down at Bender Park that day.

The waves were considerable.

Bystander Gabe Gutierrez saved two other teens struggling in the water. Fifteen seconds of CPR where we saw him cough and we felt a stronger pulse, and that was really leaving. How busy does it get here during the summer? Very busy.

We were expecting a four-day Weekend coming up for a lot of people taking off. We expect to be very busy.

Lifeguard Rich Borowski is raising awareness on beach safety. What are the different types of flags and how should people interpret them?

Once you come down here, you're going to see two flags. Obviously, green means fine. Red flags mean stop, not allowed in the area. And if you see a yellow flag, yellow flag, usually here for us is going to be designated as a surfing beach.

He says not only should beachgoers keep an eye out for those colored flags, they should always listen to authorities.

If you don't know where to swim, please ask the lifeguard's questions. They are trained. They are knowledgeable. They are here to answer your questions. If you know you're not such a good swimmer, then you shouldn't be going out far.

My colleague Matt Gupman, brave the rough Pacific Ocean to demonstrate just how dangerous rip currents can be. If the waves start crashing over your head. They start to exhaust yourself. And that's when it's harder to stay above water. Often, they can be deceiving. From an elevated spot in the beach, NOAH experts advise looking for this: dark flat areas where the waves aren't breaking. But they're not always this obvious. Place, so don't just rely on your eyes.

Just talk to the lifeguard and they'll point them out to you. They'll point out all the dangers and where's the safe spot to swim.

And if you're caught in one, it's critical to know what to do. So this is a map of rip currents. What does this actually explain to us?

Okay, so basically what it's showing you is a real simple way of how rip currents form. It pulls you away from the shore. And then what you want to do in order to escape it, you swim parallel to the shore in order to escape that rip current. If you're ever in a situation when you find yourself in a rip current, you don't fight it, you don't panic. That's a recipe for a disaster.

What should a regular beachgoer do if they see somebody drowning? Should they go in there and help? Should they alert somebody else? What's the process there?

First thing is to alert somebody to call 911. You can't put yourself in harm's way because now we have two people we have to worry about.

Roughly a quarter of all rip current drownings are bystanders attempting to make a rip current rescue. Look for something that floats. Ideally, a boogie board, a surfboard, a cooler, anything, and try to throw it to them without entering the water. If you must enter the water, the big thing is don't enter the water without a flotation device.

Rich Borowski is always on watch, and he has one message to beachgoers hoping to make the most of their summer season. What's one thing you want beachgoers to know this season when they're heading out to the beach?

First thing for us is read the signs. Be aware. Second thing is to know the limitations, but knowledge is your best answer for this. Educate yourself, and then everything else will take its course.