The coast of New Aquitaine was again placed on high alert for the risk Friday of the formation of baïnes, coastal phenomena responsible each year for several drownings, according to the regional prefecture.
These innocuous-looking natural pools form between the beach and a sandbank, but their strong currents can quickly drag them out to sea.
As on August 20, the Gironde prefecture asks beach users to "bathe only in supervised areas" because of "particularly dangerous bathing conditions, given the concordance of various phenomena: swell, waves on board and strong currents.
Five municipalities in Charente-Maritime "particularly concerned"
In Charente-Maritime, five municipalities, three on the island of Oléron (Le-Grand-Village-Plage, Saint-Georges-d'Oléron, Saint-Trojan-les-Bains) and two on the mainland (La Tremblade, Les Mathes), are “particularly concerned” by the alert according to the prefecture.
The alert also applies to the coast of the Landes and that of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, where 18 swimmers were carried off last week according to the prefecture.
The baïnes alert system, based on data from Météo France and expert opinions on the dangerousness of the currents, was put in place this year.
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Company
Meteo France
Beach
Danger
Alert
Poitou-Charentes