Asbury Park installs lightning detection system and sirens along its beaches
And on a crowded, hot day, lifeguards have a lot on their plates. They keep an eye on swimmers, rip currents, heat exhaustion, and even hypothermia. Add lightning, and this new tool could save lives.
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Heat exhaustion, cold ocean temperatures and the threat of lightning are just some of the hazards that lifeguards keep thousands of visitors at the Jersey Shore safe from each summer.
To help that effort, Asbury Park finished installing a new detection system on Friday.
“Lightning looks for the tallest thing around and since there are no trees on the beach, the tallest thing is you,” said Asbury Park Beach Safety Supervisor Joe Bongiovanni.
And on a crowded, hot day, lifeguards have a lot on their plates. They keep an eye on swimmers, rip currents, heat exhaustion, and even hypothermia. Add lightning, and this new tool could save lives.
Asbury Park just put in two new lightning detection systems and sirens. One is located by the food trucks on the north end, and the second alert system is at 1st Avenue. On Sunday, the system was tested for the first time when a pop-up storm formed a few miles away.
“Everyone obeyed the siren and got off the beach and it also gives a signal we have to keep the beach clear for 30 minutes after the last thunder or lightning,” said Bongiovanni.
Tonya Calabro knows a thing or two about lightning since he is from Florida. But teaching that message to her kids can be a challenge.
“Any alert system that's going to scare them a little bit is going to work. I think it would get my kids to listen because otherwise we wouldn't take people blowing a whistle as seriously as a siren going off. I would appreciate it,” said Calabro.
More swimmers are venturing into the ocean now that the water temperatures are finally out of the frigid 50s and into the still chilly 60s.
“It has warmed up quite a bit the water has calmed down. We've had several days of west wind, so it has calmed the ocean down a lot,” said Bongiovanni.
It can still be dangerous. Lifeguards in Asbury Park have already saved 14 lives this year.
Most beaches will be fully staffed for the summer starting next weekend.
