Strengthening communication on drowning prevention

Accordingly, the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department recommends that children should be closely supervised when swimming in swimming pools, the sea, or playing near rivers and lakes. Adult supervision not only ensures safety but also builds awareness for children. The most effective solution to prevent drowning is to teach children to swim. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the implementation of free or low-cost swimming teaching programs, especially in high-risk areas. At the same time, equip children with skills to handle dangerous situations in water such as signaling for help.

Skills to escape from rip currents on beaches.

For those who cannot swim, when discovering a drowning person, they need to use items such as a pole, life buoy, or rope to support the victim from the shore, because jumping into the water to save someone without skills can lead to consequences that endanger both the victim and the rescuer. The case of a young man rushing to save a girl who jumped off Tran Phu bridge in April 2025 is an example.

According to professional rescue soldiers, in coastal areas such as Bai Dai (Cam Lam) or Nha Trang, there are often underwater whirlpools with speeds of up to 2.5m/s, which can sweep people away from shore. Due to lack of knowledge, many people try to swim against the current to get to shore, leading to exhaustion and drowning. Therefore, when encountering this situation, people need to swim across the current, then swim in an arc to return to shore. For those who cannot swim or are exhausted, relaxing their bodies to let the current push them away and waiting for a chance to signal for help is the safest option. People need to observe and recognize whirlpools through signs such as: dark blue water color or white-capped waves to avoid them. In addition, local authorities need to pay attention to surveying and installing whirlpool warning signs on the beach and increasing training sessions for people, especially in tourist development areas such as Nha Trang and Cam Lam.

According to the leader of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department, the work of preventing and combating drowning accidents currently has many limitations. That is, the community's awareness of the risk of drowning is still uneven; the infrastructure for teaching swimming and rescue is still lacking, especially in rural and mountainous areas; communication campaigns on drowning prevention and combat have not really spread strongly, leading to many people not mastering basic skills. To overcome this situation, there needs to be close coordination between functional agencies, social organizations and the community; swimming should be included in the compulsoryeducation program, and at the same time support the construction of public swimming pools in localities. Organizations and businesses can contribute by sponsoring swimming courses or providing rescue equipment. In addition, it is necessary to promote communication activities through many channels to raise awareness and skills for people.

JACKIE CHAN

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/xa-hoi/202505/tang-cuong-truyen-thong-ve-phong-ngua-tai-nan-duoi-nuoc-adf37b5/