Alarming as it may sound, the death rate of Hawaii tourists has been slowly climbing. Many of these tourists either die on the water or die even after heroic rescue efforts were made. According to critics, the state is negligent in giving its 8 million annual tourists ample warnings against the dangers accompanying water activities.
Huffington Post said, it seemed that one tourist die every week in Hawaii. Death occurs basically from vacation activities. Three of the main causes include hiking, snorkeling and swimming. Although most of these are water-related injuries, there are also those who suffer from spinal cord damage. Just this week, three deaths resulted from engaging in water activities.
Three Deaths In A Single Week
The deaths for this week involved a 27-year-old Japanese, a 21-year-old Chinese and a 70-year-old Australian. The Japanese died while scuba diving and a spokeswoman for the Emergency Medical Services said that he was already unresponsive in the water.
The Chinese on the other hand died after engaging on a waterfall hike. The Chinese woman was found by fellow hikers already submerged in the waterfall pond.
The old Australian was snorkeling off a Kauai Beach but was found 20 feet from the shore lifeless. He was floating face down on the water.
How To Increase Survival Rates
According to Civil Beat, the key to survival in water-related incidents is to get the victim out of the water. Medical attention should also be quick enough or else the survival rate diminishes at every passing second.
In terms of snorkeling, lifeguards often find it hard to identify persons in distress as people who are snorkeling are mostly stationary. From the perspective of a lifeguard, those who snorkel look pretty much the same. They also don't want a situation where they will interrupt a vacationer who is snorkeling even though he does not need any rescuing.
At present, state government is trying to find a balance between educating visitors without compromising tourism. Hawaii Tourism Authority said that they want to develop a consistent and strong message informing visitors but they also don't want to scare them away.
