Costa Rica has some of the world's best beaches and is a top-rated global tourist destination. Unfortunately, Costa Rican beaches are also dangerous and drowning among tourists has been a particular problem.

Despite being a significant cause of death in coastal waters, data on who is at risk and the best way to prevent snorkeller death and injury is scarce. International researchers connected through IDRA to conduct a systematic review on the topic.

Researchers from the University of Adelaide and the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group published a study exploring fatal drowning risk among tourists and recently arrived individuals from overseas at beaches in metropolitan South Australia.

We reviewed 146 coastal drowning studies from around the world in an attempt to characterise the peer-reviewed scientific literature in the field. This study aimed to identify the key concepts, findings, evidence and gaps in the science in order to help guide future research and inform prevention activities.

The study revealed that of those bodies found, most missing people (65%) were recovered within 24 hours of searches commencing and 64% were located within 1km of where they disappeared.

An important new study led by Jaz Lawes of Surf Life Saving Australia was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE which documents and characterises bystander rescuer fatalities within Australian coastal waterways between July 2004 and June 2019.

Lifeguard data has been used in drowning research since the 1980s, and a few challenges have previously been identified. However, what and how that information is recorded hasn’t been formally examined until now.

There’s been a bit of a lull in rip current research lately, but an exciting new study led by Sebastian Pitman of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand was recently published in the Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences.