Hospital officials and lifeguards say strong surf produced more serious surf-related injuries last week than any other week in recent years.
In one day, the Rehoboth Beach Patrol reported six spinal injuries. This past week, emergency room physician Dr. Kevin Bristowe said Beebe Medical Center saw several broken necks, numerous ankle fractures and dislocated shoulders and clavical fractures.
Rehoboth Beach Patrol Lt. Mark Reynolds said he’s never seen so many broken bones as he did this past week in the eight years he’s been a guard.
“Compared to last year, this past week we’ve had more rescues, obviously because of the tropical storms coming,” Reynolds said. “We’ve had the most cases in one week – the most I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” Reynolds said.
Bristowe said most of the emergency room patients are tourists who are not accustomed to strong surf.
“A lot of people are not appreciating the power of the surf. People are turning their backs on the waves and just getting hit by the surf,” Bristowe said. “They don’t expect it. They get knocked over, or hit into somebody else.”
Tropical Storm Bertha, which escalated July 7 to a Category 3 storm – including sustained winds at 115 mph, generated swells and rip currents that slammed Cape Region beaches for the second straight weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
Bertha, now northeast of Bermuda, produced three-foot waves Saturday, July 12, sending numerous injured swimmers to the hospital.
On Bertha’s heels, however, Tropical Storm Cristobal leaves no break for beachgoers as it, too, is producing crashing surf – at least for the earlier part of this week.
“We’re still under a moderate risk for rip currents along the coast,” said Joe Miketta, meteorologist with the weather services’ Mount Holly office.
From Friday, July 11, to Friday, July 18, Rehoboth Beach Patrol alone reported 21 broken ankles, fractured shoulders and dislocated knees, said Reynolds.
Over the same period, rough conditions produced about 10 spinal injuries, severe back and neck injuries that require back-boarding victims to emergency rooms, said Reynolds.
“Our shorebreak is pretty bad. The waves breaking on shore are not like they used to be. It’s just been that way ever since beach replenishment,” said Reynolds.
Improving area beaches makes for wider sand expanses, but it also creates more hazardous conditions for swimmers, said Reynolds.
“Beach replenishment is good for the beach size, but it also creates problems for us,” he said.
Bristowe said doctors routinely see these kinds of injuries over the summer, but this past week, they faced an unprecedented number of cases.
“Our orthopedists were very busy,” said Bristowe. He agreed the last time injuries were this severe was following the completion of the 2005 beach replenishment. Most injuries are sustained by out-of-towners unfamiliar with the surf, he said.
Injuries come in clusters within a short time frame, said Bristowe. “We got six or eight ambulances in, within an hour to an hour and a half – all with significant injuries,” he said.
“Water carries a lot of weight and a lot of force. We’ve got another storm coming up, and it’s going to give us more big surf,” he said.
Spinals worse than rip-tide risk
While riptides caused the lifeguards to rescue numerous swimmers, injuries caused by the sharp drop-off along the beach were causing more injuries, said Reynolds.
On Wednesday, July 16, rough surf caused six spinal injuries, said Rehoboth Beach Patrol lifeguard Chase Harmon. Harmon, who guards Little Deauville Beach off Lake Avenue, also said riptides can push swimmers into a nearby jetty marked by a no-swimming sign.
The heavy surf and strong tides attracted many families to a wide runnel, which lay on the beach for week.
Runnels are produced from water being forced up onto shore, creating brooks of water parallel to the Atlantic Ocean.
From Deauville Beach at Rehoboth’s north end to Queen Street to the south, tidal water remained trapped. Near Queen and Rodney streets runnel water was waist high, said Harmon.
On Monday, July 21, Anika Winterhoff, visiting from Charlottesville, Va., kept a close eye on her 4-year-old daughter.
“We’re not letting her go too far. We’re keeping her on short leash. We came out yesterday and saw how rough it was,” said Winterhoff.
Near Queen Street, two vacationing family from Pittsburgh had the same idea. For the Conte and Fuchs families, the runnels provided an alternative to crashing waves as their children splashed in onshore water.
“It seems rougher today than yesterday. We haven’t really let go of their hands. One moment it’s calm, the next moment it’s really bad,” said Tania Conte.
Tropical Storm Cristobal, 190 miles east of Cape Hatteras, is still causing waves to batter the beach in the wake of Bertha, said Miketta.
“It is possible we could have some influence from the storm until tomorrow. With the storm being that close, it’s anticipated we’ll still have the effects from it,” he said.
source: capegazette.com