Rip currents prompted 200 rescues in Virginia and North Carolina over the July Fourth weekend

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — Strong rip currents prompted lifeguards to pull about 200 swimmers from the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia and North Carolina over the holiday weekend. Tom Gill is chief of the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service. He told The Virginian-Pilot that the city’s more than 180 rescues was a high number, even for a holiday weekend. Authorities reported 21 rescues on North Carolina’s Hatteras Island. The rescues in Virginia and North Carolina follow at least 10 deaths last month that authorities attributed to rip currents along the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama and Florida. So far this year, the National Weather Service reports that 57 people have died this year in the U.S. because of rip currents, as of July 1.