surfing in a cyclone could cost you $16,000 or your life

Social media is awash with images of surfers chasing waves as Cyclone Alfred whips up seas off Australia’s east coast.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has branded beachgoers as “idiots”. On Friday morning, he said those going to the beach as the cyclone approaches put themselves and emergency services at risk, adding:

I plead to the people who might think that now is a great time to go out on the surf – it’s not. It’s not just for you I’m concerned, but for the innocent person who has to go in after you.

Sightseers have been caught in storm surges, and rescuers have been forced into the surf to help others. Up and down the coast, beaches are closed.

In Queensland, surfers have been warned they may face fines up to A$16,000 for reckless behaviour.

Despite all this, surfers and others continue to enter the water. It’s important to ask why – and what will it take to get them to stop?

Only a surfer knows the feeling

I research injury prevention with a focus on drowning and safety in the water. As cofounder of the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, I have also led research into surfing.

Surfers frequently chase waves in big surf. Research by my colleagues and I shows under normal conditions, surfers have a lower risk of dying during this activity than people taking part in other water-related activities such as swimming, wading, snorkelling and scuba diving.

Although drowning is the leading cause of death while surfing, other severe injuries are relatively rare.

Of course, injuries can occur. These include cervical spine fractures and other spinal cord injuries, head injuries and lacerations. These can be due to collision with a surfboard, a fin, or the ocean floor.

Yet most surfers usually manage to avoid serious injury. Throw some mega waves into the mix, however, and things can turn deadly, fast.

Research shows the risk of injury is almost 2.5 times higher when surfing in waves that were over head height or bigger, relative to other waves.

Despite this, the lure of experiencing record-breaking waves can be hard to ignore.

Research shows surfers are motivated by what’s known as “sensation seeking”. In other words, they are more likely to seek out intense experiences than those who participate in other, less extreme sports.

The desire to “master nature” – or go into battle with a big wave and come out on top – has been documented in analyses of surfing motivation.

For big wave surfers, the reward – and the risk – can can be even greater. The physical and mental preparation needed to take on such extremes are immense. Tragically, deaths do occur even when attempts are made to improve safety.

This desire to take risks in the water contributes to the over-representation of males in drowning statistics.

Such risk-taking behaviour often plays out on social media in aquatic locations and during extreme weather events.

Other hazards, above and below the surface

Beyond the waves, other hazards can cause increased risk of ill health and injury in stormy seas. Debris can increase the risk of blunt-force trauma, while fecal and other bacteria in stormwater can cause illness.

Sea foam should not be considered harmless either, having been implicated in rescues and tragic cases of drowning in the past.

In the long term, coastal erosion due to storm surges and powerful surf can create permanent changes, impacting infrastructure and changing the location and strength of rip currents – the number-one coastal drowning hazard.

Read more: Can you spot a rip current? Test your knowledge with our interactive quiz