PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — The world’s most beautiful beaches, that’s what we call this area. In fact, our name here at News 13 reflects that WMBB. Our beaches however come with a risk and that’s rip currents.

Thanks to the double sandbar formation along the shore we get many different types of setups for rips to develop. Most are caused by breaks in the sandbars which can be hard to spot. Rip currents are not just dangerous they are deadly. In fact, rip currents kill more people along the Gulf Coast than any other weather-related event. That makes understanding a rip the most important thing you can do before visiting the beaches.

We want you to enjoy the beaches and we want you to have a great time, we also want you to do it safely as well. Rip currents are survivable but you must know how to identify them, how to avoid them, what to do when you’re caught in one, and what to do if you see someone caught in one. All of these things will assure you a safe and fun beach trip.