PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — A spate of drownings on Panama City Beach led to several news stories in national media outlets calling the area the “deadliest beach in America.”
Seven people have drowned in the last two weeks in rough surf in the Gulf of Mexico of Panama City Beach. Two more people drowned in nearby Walton County and Ryan Mallet, 35, a former NFL quarterback, drowned in Okaloosa County on Tuesday.
Drudge Report, one of the most viewed news aggregators in the world had a headline on Tuesday that said, “Beach of Death.” On Wednesday the site included another story about the drownings with the headline, “Gulf Drownings.”
Good Morning America on ABC had extensive coverage of the issue Wednesday morning. And Fox News had a story with a headline that named Panama City Beach the deadliest beach in America in 2023. The national outlet had another headline on its main page, “You may want to change summer plans as most fatal beach in America is revealed.”
Bay Sheriff Tommy Ford responded to the issue this week with a long statement on Facebook. And Bay County’s Tourism Development Council, Visit Panama City Beach, also spoke out in a story for News 13 on Tuesday.
Tuesday night the City of Panama City Beach issued a statement about the issue as well.
“Any and every loss of life is a tragedy. The City considers these drownings heart-wrenching,
unnecessary and preventable,” the statment reads. “Between June 15 and June 25, our Beach Safety personnel received 73 rescue calls and rescued 143 people. Lifeguards also took 116,089 preventive actions whereby they initiated an action to prevent a person from entering the Gulf waters or made a rescue without entering the water.”
The statement adds, “Failure to heed the flag-warning system remains the City’s greatest challenge on the sandy beach, and the City’s first responders’ actions are often met with anger and disrespect.”
The city’s full statement is below:
Just as Panama City Beach’s busy summer season was reaching peak visitor numbers, our
area experienced a string of extremely dangerous conditions in the waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
Like many beaches throughout Florida, the City flies double-red flags to warn its residents and
visitors of these life-threatening conditions and closes the Gulf waters.
Between the days of June 15 and June 25, six individuals drowned in the Gulf of Mexico within
City of Panama City Beach. Five of those instances occurred when double-red flags were flying.
Any and every loss of life is a tragedy. The City considers these drownings heart-wrenching,
unnecessary and preventable.
Our brave first responders, including members of the Beach
Safety division, Beach Fire Rescue, Panama City Beach Police Department, and Code Enforcement, have worked nonstop over this period, risking their own lives, as they protected
the public across nine miles of City beaches.
City Ordinance 1540, passed by the City Council in 2020, allows for civil penalties for all those
refusing to obey the flags and subsequent orders to stay out of the water. During this string of
dangerous conditions, City personnel cited 98 people for getting in the water on double-red flag
days resulting in fines up to $1,000.
Between June 15 and June 25, our Beach Safety personnel received 73 rescue calls and
rescued 143 people. Lifeguards also took 116,089 preventive actions whereby they initiated an
action to prevent a person from entering the Gulf waters or made a rescue without entering the
water.
Failure to heed the flag-warning system remains the City’s greatest challenge on the sandy
beach, and the City’s first responders’ actions are often met with anger and disrespect. Despite
their citations, warnings, and pleas, our first responders are often ignored. Multiple rescuers
have suffered injuries related to water rescues and have been treated for water inhalation.
Despite these perils, the City’s brave men and women have worked tirelessly day-in-and-dayout
to prevent any loss of life.
Each year the City works to improve each aspect of its beach safety program to provide the
safest experience to its 100,000 daily visitors. Since 2020, the City has offered City lifeguards to
beachfront properties through a public-private partnership. For two years, one property owner
has partnered with the City resulting in the addition of additional lifeguards on the City’s eastern
shores.
Over the same period, the City has increased code enforcement staff, police personnel,
and lifeguards on the beach. In addition, the City partners with Bay County first responders and
the Tourist Development Council to continually improve our beach flag safety educational and
enforcement efforts.
We implore everyone to learn and follow the flag warning system. All residents and visitors
should be aware of the current conditions, teach your children, and keep everyone safe by
following the flags. More information can be found at https://www.pcbfl.gov/aboutus/
visitors/beach-warning-flags.
The City commends our beach lifeguards, code enforcement, fire and police for their many
hours of dedicated service to the community during this most difficult time.