Viral photo reveals hidden danger at Aussie beaches

Aussies are being warned to never enter the sea here. It may look like the safest part of the beach, but it’s actually the opposite.

A picture of a Gold Coast beach went viral on Facebook over the weekend with a potentially life saving message.

A local woman shared a photo of what appeared to be a calm area of the ocean among the waves.

She warned while it looks like the “easiest and safest” place to enter the sea, it was actually the opposite.

“Was sitting at the beach and REALLY wanted to remind people, especially during school holidays,” Angie James wrote, explaining the image was of a rip current.

A rip current spotted on the Gold Coast. Picture: Facebook / Angie James

According to Surf Life Saving Australia, rips are one of the greatest and most common hazards on our beaches leading to “countless rescues each year”.

Sadly, they are also responsible for, on average, at least 21 drowning deaths a year.

If caught in a rip, you should not exhaust yourself trying to swim back to shore.

Instead, you should swim parallel to the shoreline. When back among the normal waves you can then return to shore.

“Please educate friends or family visiting the beaches this summer. Stay safe,” Ms James wrote in her post that has since been reshared more than 12,000 times and liked by almost 30,000 people.

The key signs when looking for a rip before entering the ocean are deeper and/or darker water, fewer breaking waves, sandy coloured water extending beyond the surf zone, debris or seaweed, and significant water movement.

You can survive a rip current by knowing your options. Picture: Surf Life Saving Queensland

Rips can also be spotted by looking at where the waves are breaking consistently. If they don’t break consistently to the side, those areas are rip currents.

The National Coastal Safety Survey 2018 by Surf Life Saving Australia reported there was 17,000 rips in Australia on any given day and 4 million Australians had been caught in a rip unintentionally.

Survey participants were asked to identify a rip in two different images.

Less than half of the people who said they were confident they could identify a rip actually got it correct for both images.