Lately there have been many news stories across Canada about drowning incidents that could have seemingly been prevented.

Four men died over the weekend at a popular cliff jumping spot in Muskoka, Ont. when they didn’t resurface after a jump. Apparently the area has had severe flooding lately due to massive rainfall, causing the falls to become extremely high and dangerous.

Today another man died and one is in hospital after two men attempted to rescue a child from the same falls. The child was found fine, while one man was pronounced dead and the other presumably dead. He was later revived at hospital. Their actions were heroic and may have resulted in a child’s life being saved.

A few weeks ago a man became trapped in a log jam on the Elk River while tubing. A female friend held his head above water until help was able to arrive to rescue him.

The Lifesaving Society of Canada, a non profit organization dedicated to educating Canadians about the threat of drowning related injury and deaths, reports that deaths from drowning are climbing. Drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death in Canada for people under 60 and the second leading cause of death for children under 10. Men are four times more likely to drown than woman.

The Society says that children are particularly susceptible to drowning. They can drown in as quickly as 10 seconds. It is important to supervise children and provide them with PFDs and keep them in arms reach.

Sgt. Laurie Jalbert from the Kimberley RCMP detachment said at the time of the Elk River accident that water can be unpredictable. As a member of the RCMP dive team, she has responded to calls where people expected that nothing could go wrong on such a beautiful sunny day.

The summer months are best spent on the lake, but it is important to use caution and proper floatation devices, especially when floating down rivers and boating. Leaving alcohol on the shore instead of on the boat when you head out is an important strategy to keeping safe on the water.

On that note, let’s hope the weather clears up soon so we can get back to our summer on the water, where I know most of us want to be.