How to be safe near water this festive season

With the rising temperatures, more and more families will be enjoying water-based activities.

With this comes the added risk of drowning if children are left unattended.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) has released a few safety tips on how to keep yourself and children safe around the water.

Also read: Water Wednesday: Safety tips for storing and drinking water

Water safety tips to be taken into consideration:

• Never leave children alone near open water sources. An unattended child for a few seconds near the water source subjects that child to drowning.

• Summer is known as a rainy season and many open unguarded water sources such as trenches, culverts, rivers are filled with water and spell prone hazards of drowning.

• It is a norm for children to splash around in the water during bath time. Playing inside water is great fun for children but unfortunately, drowning is eminent because of few drops of water which might be breathed down the airway (nose and lungs) preventing and blocking air passage.

• At home, never leave buckets and baths full of water unattended because toddlers might fall in and drown.

• Wading pools or splash pools should always be emptied when playtime is over.

• Teach children how to swim. Never leave them alone in the pool. Backyard swimming pools must be fenced around to keep children out and the gate kept locked always. Safety net/sheet covering the entire pool should be intact to prevent children of all ages from sneaking in without parents or adult`s supervision.

• Municipal pools, holiday resorts pools and coastline swimming mostly have lifeguards to assist in case of drowning but drowning doesn’t need copious amounts of water and much time. Responsible adults with the necessary skills should keep a close eye on children.

• Wear a properly fitted life jacket(s) or inflatable swimming devices while inside the water.

• Never cross flooded bridges and rivers if water is above ankle level. Common practice is that many people use water pipe-lines across river streams as bridges or routes to destinations which is dangerous. Use appropriate alternative routes instead.

Also read: Flood tips for the rainy season from Ekurhuleni DEMS

Be prepared for an emergency:

To prevent accidents, one of the best things to do is to prepare for an emergency because it can strike at any time.

Keep your children safe and alive.

• Learn basic cardio Pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and Heimlich manoeuvre (Abdominal thrusts) procedures.

• Know your local life-threatening emergency numbers wherever you are. Ensure that numbers are readily and clearly displayed for everyone to know and to use.

• Alternatively, know national emergency numbers.

• Try to be calm and give exact address and what happened to the call centre operators to save time.

• Keep a record of reference numbers given by the call centre.

• Assemble a first aid kit with emergency instructions.

• Teach your child how to activate emergency services as well.

City of Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) is on high alert throughout the entire festive season to be able to attend to any emergency life-threatening events that might erupt that are in line with emergency services prerequisites.

In case of emergencies within the City of Ekurhuleni call their direct line 011 458 0911, cellphone 112, or national emergency number 10177.

Numbers should be saved and easy to access on your telephone or cellphone.

Speak clearly on the phone when reporting an emergency.

Provide the operators with all the necessary details required.

Do not end the conversation until all questions are answered.