ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL DECISION FACTORS OF BEACH SAFETY IN THE CENTRAL NORTHERN COAST OF SANTA CATARINA, BRAZIL.

Beach safety is an issue both of type/intensity of usage that a beach receives and of its physical characteristics (including morphodynamic state and local hazards). This paper shows the results of a survey conducted at oceanic beaches of the central northern coast of Santa Catarina, Brazil, in order to investigate the magnitude and nature of beach safety issue in these localities. The 137 registers obtained showed that: 64% of accident victims were male; 56% were habitual users of the beaches from which they were rescued; 70% were unable to swim; 77% of the accidents ocurred in rip currents of moderate to strong intensity; 88% in under 0 to 1m wave breaker heights; 45% under spilling breakers and 30% under plunging breakers; 54% of the accidents occurred at longshore bar and trough beaches, 24% at dissipative beaches and 16% at rhythmic bar and beach beaches. Generally, results showed that social decision factors may be more important than the environmental ones in the issue of beach safety at the surveyed beaches.