This beach in North Carolina is among 10 ‘deadliest’ in the nation, travel site says
One of North Carolina’s coastal attractions is on a Top 10 list that nobody wants to be a part of: “America’s Deadliest Beaches.”
Oak Island in Brunswick County came in at No. 8, after a team at Travel Lens calculated a “danger score” that included drownings and shark attacks.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — just 60 miles to the south — was No. 5 on the list.
“There are beaches which present some dangers ... whether that’s hurricanes, surfing fatalities, or shark attacks,” Travel Lens reported.
“We wanted to find out which beaches are more deadly than others, so we looked into several factors, such as fatalities, to discover which beaches in the US present the biggest dangers to visitors.”
Oak Island had eight surf zone fatalities and two shark attacks since 2010, and 58 hurricanes on record since 1851, the site reported.
Myrtle Beach had 15 surf zone deaths and nine shark attacks since 2010, and 31 hurricanes on record, Travel Lens said.
The list was published Jan. 27, and Oak Island town officials quickly took exception, noting Travel Lens didn’t mention “roughly a half a million beachgoers” who safely visited Oak Island during that same 12-year time frame.
“This article presents heavily as an example of ‘clickbait,’ where its goal seems to be soliciting emotion-driven readership more than providing relevant information on actual danger,” town officials said in a statement to McClatchy News.
“It combines minimal statistics with no additional variables, to create its admittedly non-scientific ‘danger scale.’ It should also be noted that this article contains no actual firsthand reporting about Oak Island.”
Town officials also noted multiple initiatives have been put in place to bolster beach safety, including a Beach Services Unit with patrol vehicles and 68 Water Safety Stations with rescue tubes, town officials said.
Five of the beaches on the Top 10 list were in Florida, with New Smyrna Beach at No. 1. It has had 10 fatalities, 32 shark attacks and 120 hurricanes since 1851, the site said.
Travel Lens is an online travel publication that describes itself as “dedicated to featuring high-quality travel articles about worldwide destinations, best hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, and many more.”
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