Beach Rescue Statistics and their Relation to Nearshore Morphology and Hazards: A Case Study for Southwest England

Abstract

SCOTT, T., RUSSELL, P., MASSELINK, G., WOOLER, A., and SHORT, A., 2007. Beach rescue statistics and their relation to nearshore morphology and hazards: a case study for southwest England. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 50 (Proceedings of the 9th International Coastal Symposium), 1 – 6. Gold Coast, Australia, ISSN 0749.0208 The coasts of Devon and Cornwall in the southwest of England experience some of the most energetic wave conditions (Hs,10% = 2–3 m) and largest tide ranges MSR = (4.2–8.6 m) in the UK. They are also a popular tourist destination during the summer months with over 10 million visitors per year. The energetic wave/tide conditions pose a considerable physical risk to beach users and 62 beach environments in this region are therefore patrolled by Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeguards. Beach rescue statistics collected by the RNLI during spring and summer (1 May to 1 October) were analysed to examine and quantify the risk posed by physical beach hazards to beach users. Rip currents were found to be the main hazard and were responsible for 71% of all recorded incidents. The most hazardous beaches were found on the exposed west coast of the study area. Beaches here can be classified as morphodynamically intermediate and are characterized by low-tide tide bar and rip systems, often topographically-constrained by intertidal geology. The rip currents are generally most active around low tide. Beaches in Devon and Cornwall exhibit morphologies that are significantly different from previously studied beaches in Australia due to the combination of high energy surf zones, large tides and variable coastal geology. This work represents a first step towards the generation of standardized beach risk assessments in the UK.