FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2004

MEDIA ADVISORY

‘BREAK THE GRIP OF THE RIP’ NEWS CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON
PREVENTION OF RIP CURRENT DEATHS

NOAA and the United States Lifesaving Association will launch a public awareness campaign about the dangers of rip currents to swimmers at United States coastal and Great Lakes beaches. More than 100 people die annually from rip currents, and it is estimated that 80 percent of all lifeguard rescues are the result of swimmers unable to escape a rip current. It is estimated that many more such deaths are not reported. In 2000 alone, there were 32,000 rip current related rescues, according to the United States Lifesaving Association. An estimated 90 million Americans visit a beach annually.

WHAT: News Conference, Unveiling of New National Safety Campaign
Event will be broadcast live on satellite. Also 14 minutes of B-Roll will be fed at 9:40 a.m. and at 11:05 a.m. EDT.

TIME SLOTS AVAILABLE: Television stations can schedule individual interviews (via satellite hook-ups) with a choice of speakers from the above list from 11:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. EDT. To schedule an interview contact David Miller at (202) 482-0013 or Ben Sherman at (301) 713-3066 ext. 178.

SATELLITE COORDINATES: 09:15 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EDT
AMC9-K17
85 degrees West
Uplink Freq: 14340 Horizontal
Downlink Freq: 12040 Vertical
Bandwidth: 36 MHz

WHEN: Monday, May 24, 2004, 10:00 a.m. – 11 :00 a.m. EDT Kickoff Event

WHERE: Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort, 1706 N. Lumina Avenue
Wrightsville Beach, NC.. 28480 (just outside Wilmington, NC)

WHO: Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.), undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator
Jim Lushine, NOAA National Weather Service, warning coordination meteorologist
Wendy Carey, Delaware Sea Grant, research scientist
B. Chris Brewster, president, United States Lifesaving Association (USLA)
Peter Davis, lifeguard and USLA education director
Sandee LaMotte, widow of CNN correspondent and bureau chief Larry LaMotte who drowned June 8, 2003, while trying to rescue 11-year old son. Ryan and Krysta LaMotte, children also participating.
Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), assistant administrator, NOAA National Weather Service

Also available will be local community leaders, lifeguards and members of the Wilmington N.C., NOAA Weather Service local forecast office and North Carolina Sea Grant Extension service who have been collaborating to use the rip current forecast locally.

BACKGROUND: Purpose is bring to the public information to make their beach experience safer; to promote the use of rip current outlooks, where available, in local weather forecasts and warnings; and an effort to standardize messages concerning rip currents and how to avoid them. A standardized national sign for beach communities will be unveiled as will a new NOAA National Weather Service rip current information Web site and a national informational brochure.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the
prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing
environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources. NOAA is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Relevant Web Sites:
NOAA Rip Currents

NOAA's Rip Current Program: Forecasting and Raising Public Awareness about the Drowning Machine

Media Contact:
Ben Sherman, NOAA Ocean Service, (301) 713-3066 ext. 178 or cell (202) 253-5256