Rarely a week goes by down along the Florida panhandle and I am sure the same on over the Alabama coastline where folks don't drown by a rip current. And usually it involves multiple people because those that attempt to save, usually the parents, drown and sometimes the person they try to save also drowns. People ignore the flags and even the double red flags all the time. Tourists probably don't see the news every night showing the drownings but it is very common. You can have calm looking water on the surface but a nasty rip just below.
Unfortunately, the ignorant folks ruin it for the smarter ones.
Maybe you can share more updated information as this was all I could find.
The information is only for this year and through July 2025 but three deaths in Panama City Beaches and 12 state wide from rip currents is far from someone every week.
There is no single, updated national count for beach drowning deaths in Florida for the entirety of this year, but reports from July 2025 show three deaths in Panama City Beach and 12 other rip current fatalities state wide occurred by this point in the year. The most recent publicly available, year-to-date statistics were last reported in July, with ongoing reporting by local news sources and agencies like the Panama City News.
