With a record hot weekend upcoming as well as the Canada Day holiday, the B.C. Coroners Service is urging residents and visitors to take extra care while enjoying recreational water activities, especially boating and swimming.
"Hot weather draws people to B.C.'s beaches, rivers and lakes," said Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe. "They're wonderful places for recreation, but people need to be aware of basic safety precautions and minimize some of the inherent risks of water-based activities."
Coroner's statistics consistently show a spike in drowning deaths each summer, with July and August being the riskiest months.
In each of the past seven years, at least 30 per cent of the accidental drowning deaths for the entire year took place during those two months. An average of about 80 people die in accidental drownings in B.C. each year. 2014 appears to have had a reduced drowning rate with preliminary statistics showing 57 such deaths.
Boating and swimming are the highest-risk water activities, but even those walking along waterside trails or cliffs should take care.
About one-sixth of those who drowned fell into the water from shore.
Two key prevention steps that research shows would significantly reduce the risk of drowning are:
- In any small craft wear a properly-fitted personal floatation device at all times when on the water. Having one in the boat is not sufficient, as in as many as 70 per cent of boating incidents, the person becomes separated from the boat.
- Do not mix alcohol with boating, swimming or other recreational water activities. A study published in the journal "Injury Prevention" suggests that someone with a blood-alcohol level of 0.10 has about 10 times the risk of drowning during boating, and that even a small amount of alcohol can increase the risk.
