2023 Beach Safety Initiatives

The Town of Emerald Isle remains focused on beach safety year-round. Increased investments in personnel, equipment, and communication efforts will be highly visible for the 2023 summer season.

Flag System

Emerald Isle utilizes the nationally/ internationally recognized ocean condition flag system. In alignment with seasonal notifications provided by the National Weather Services (NWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Town will fly beach condition flags between April 15 and October 31. A total of 30 large flags, measuring 4-feet by 6-feet each, will be placed along the Emerald Isle beach strand.

New this year: solar-powered flashing lights at high visibility spots around Town to signify dangerous currents, which indicates that everyone should remain out of the water.

Lifeguards

The Town has lifeguards on the beach strand between April 1 and September 30.

Candidates can learn more about the opportunity to be an ocean rescue lifeguard in the future and watch a short job advertisement that outlines all that our lifeguards do.

Jeeps

Two stationary lifeguard stations will again be located at the Western Ocean Regional Access (WORA) and Eastern Ocean Regional Access (EORA). The beach strand will also be subdivided into service zones, where mobile lifeguards will patrol the strand in four overlapping sectors.

Via the Enterprise Municipal Fleet Lease Program, the Town has three red Jeep Wranglers for use by lifeguards on the beach. Additionally, the Police Department has leased white Jeep Wranglers.

Videos

Stationary iPads, pre-loaded with RIP Current educational videos, will be made available to the public. Stations will be placed at the Carteret County Visitors Center on Emerald Isle and other key locations throughout Town. Guests will be able to watch a video and learn more about the power of the ocean.

You can also watch a series of ocean safety videos on the Town's YouTube page.

For additional information about the Town of Emerald Isle, visit our website or call 252-354-3424.

Note

Emerald Isle adheres to the USLA minimum recommended standards for the training, equipping, and preparedness of those assigned to prevent drowning and other injury in the open water environment.