Fewer beachgoers helps beach safety Drownings play on the minds of Kaua’i County lifeguards because they seem to happen more often at state beaches where lifeguard services are not provided. Because of rough water conditions, the island has averaged nearly
Fewer beachgoers helps beach safety
Drownings play on the minds of Kaua’i County lifeguards because they seem to happen more often at state beaches where lifeguard services are not provided.
Because of rough water conditions, the island has averaged nearly a dozen drownings each year over the last decade, more than any other county in Hawai’i.
But drownings have dropped this year – five so far – apparently because of water safety programs set in motion by the county and organizations and because of heightened public awareness of dangerous water conditions.
The terrorist hijackings and attacks in Washington D.C., New York City and Pennsylvania earlier this month have driven down the number of visitors to Hawai’i, placing the state in an economic bind. But the situation is a silver lining for Kaua’i. It means that with fewer visitors on the beaches, the likelihood of drownings is less, said Kaleo Ho’okano, chief county lifeguard.
Since February, the five confirmed drownings on Kaua’i this year have left the island behind the pace of 12 per year for the last two years.
The number of visitors to Kaua’i has dropped in the aftermath of the terrorist attack and fear of flying. But more visitors will come back because the state is safe and appealing, Ho’okano said.
“The terrorists are hitting where the money is, and that is not Hawai’i,” Ho’okano said. “I think that we will bounce back, faster than people think. We are still paradise.”
Meanwhile, the county is considering installing a second lifeguard station at Po’ipu Beach Park. The stand would be placed at the western end of the park by Brennecke Beach, which has become more heavily used by residents and tourists.
Because of at least one drowning death in front of the former Waiohai Hotel site, the county considered moving a lifeguard stand in the middle of Po’ipu Beach Park to the western perimeter of the park, as a way to expand lifeguard monitoring service. But officials abandoned the plan because the stand is centrally located.
Ho’okano said water safety officials continue to review ways to improve emergency responses. He and three other Kaua’i lifeguards (Myles Emura, Kalani Vierra and Randy Ortiz), Kaua’i Water Safety Task Force member George Simpson, and Bob Kaden, a Kaua’i Fire Department battalion chief, joined other county lifeguards and organizations in a statewide water safety conference in Kona Sept. 20-21. Big Island and the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association sponsored the meeting.
The lifeguard association will serve as a non-profit group to receive donations for a five-minute water safety video that will be shown to schools, hotels and organization.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
