OC Beachgoers Dealing with Rip Currents

(OCEAN CITY, Md) – As monstrous waves crashed down on the Ocean City beach Thursday, for some people, it felt dangerous even just standing in the water.

Joe Lanzetta from New York tells us about the experience he and his son had. He says, “The waves are coming over your head, splashing you right on your back. And it was pretty heavy. The waves, you know, and especially for him, you know, they were going way over his head.”

A group of young women from Baltimore say, “They’re really scary. Yeah. You’ll get pulled down within minutes down first street. Yeah. Like we were going, we were here, and then we would be here in, like, 30 seconds.”

That’s why we went and spoke with Captain Butch Arbin with the Ocean City Beach Patrol.

He gave us a rundown on how busy they’ve been throughout the day Thursday as dozens of people needed rescue.

Butch tells us, “We have had 21 rescues as of today, right now. But again, we’re not letting people go out that far. So rip currents are not as big a problem as if the ocean didn’t have such a strong current.”

While it looks like our weather forecast may clear up, the rip currents may still pose a threat.

As Butch tells us, they’re keeping an eye on the currents because those can still be dangerous.

“We could potentially see a little additional rip current effect. But we’re going to stay high all day long today. And really the biggest thing is this north current. As long as the north current remains strong, people are being pushed through the rip current before they’re taken out,” says Captain Arbin.

The Beach Patrol is urging beachgoers to exercise caution if they are going into the water.