We are finally getting a summer in Australia.
After three years of above-average rainfall, La Niña has decided to give us a breather.
Aussies are certainly making the most of being able to enjoy the festive season in the rivers, beaches and pools dotted across our great country.
Watch: Last year's drowning report. Post continues.
But with glorious bikini weather, comes danger. Rips and fast-flowing currents are just a part of life Down Under. That's why we have patrolled beaches and lifeguards up and down the coast who spend all day, every day monitoring the unpredictable.
It's why all pools in Australia must have a pool fence. Because it can take 20 seconds for a child to drown.
It's why there are such vigorous awareness campaigns attached to inland bodies of water, warning people to 'respect the river' and always check the conditions before entering.
Already this summer, we've lost 26 people to drowning according to the Royal Life Saving Summer Drowning toll and the stories are harrowing.
On Tuesday a 42-year-old man died in a rip at Back Beach on the New South Wales Mid North Coast at about 3pm, while trying to save his daughter.
A nearby surfer was able to pull the girl to shore before returning to assist the man, but he was unresponsive.
On Monday, a 27-year-old man died south of Byron Bay around lunchtime. He was pulled from the water by surf lifesavers and an off-duty nurse, but couldn't be saved.
On the NSW South Coast on New Year's Day, a police officer drowned while saving his son from a rip at Narooma.
Sergeant Peter Stone, 44, managed to push the 14-year-old to safety at about 1:30pm on a secluded beach north of Bogola Head before drowning himself.
On Christmas Day, a 19-year-old man died at Lorne in Victoria's southwest and a 36-year-old man drowned in the Hawkesbury River in NSW.
17-year-old Nick Maan died on Boxing Day in waters off Mordialloc beach, in Melbourne’s south-east. The avid footballer went missing while swimming with his friends, and was found by police a short time later.
On the same day, a man in his 30s died in Lake Hume after chasing after his dog at Kookaburra point, and a 73-year-old woman died in waters at Seacliff south of Adelaide.
A five-year-old girl was pulled from waters in Nagambie in central-northern Victoria on December 27, after she went missing that afternoon. That same day, two teenage girls aged 13 and 14 died in a boating accident in Tamworth, NSW.
On December 29th, three-year-old Issac Powell died in a next-door neighbour's pool in Perth.
His family had just moved in, and while his mum readied the house for a family get together, the little boy made his way next door via some broken boundary fence panels.
"Isaac was found by her neighbour's children lifeless in their swimming pool," his auntie, Ummu Bakri, wrote on Facebook.
Eight children have died, with 81 per cent of the victims so far this season male.
Inland waterways have taken the most lives, followed closely by coastal waterways.
The week between Christmas and New Year is often the deadliest period for drowning deaths. Last summer (21/22) Australia recorded the highest number of deaths on record, with 145 people drowning across Australia.
More than a quarter of those who died were more than an hour away from home, according to statistics from Royal Life Saving Australia.
While the numbers are thankfully not as high as they were this time last year (we'd already lost 51 people by January 2 in 2021), it's still 26 people too many.
As Royal Life Saving chief executive Justin Scarr told SBS, alcohol is often a major contributor to holiday drownings.
We also know the rivers are extra dangerous right now, because of recent flooding.
It's a timely, horrible reminder to us all.
Swimming and enjoying the water is such an important part of the Australian summer. We're so lucky to live in a country where bodies of water aren't just refreshing, they're beautiful. They often don't look dangerous – and that's the catch. They lull you into a false sense of security.
But drowning doesn't discriminate. You can be fit and strong and die in a rip. You can be a great swimmer and be pulled under by a current.
Most children who drown in home pools, fall in by accident.
As Victorian general manager of lifesaving services, Liam Krige told The Guardian: "Any body of water can pose a threat so please, make safe decisions whenever you are in, on or around water, such as never swimming alone, [and] ensuring children are actively supervised."
We don't want to see another record summer of drowning deaths in Australia.
For more on water safety, click here.
For more on how to stay calm in a rip, click here.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Isaac's parents Stephen and Zahra. You can find it here.
Feature image: GoFundMe/Facebook/ABC.
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