Abstract:

Fatal accidents caused by drowning are one of the most common causes of sudden death. Considering the central- and western-European region, the number of deaths varies significantly, which depends on multiple internal and external factors of the human life. Poland is a country where risk of drowning is higher than in majority of the EU Member States. The changing style of life and rest caused changes in the types and frequency of accidents on the water areas. Some part of society seeks adrenaline compulsively. The needs of compensating often a hard work in the short holiday time may affect our safety decisions. Given this situation, water safety is an important knowledge in social life. Prevention among youngest members of society is considered as most effective in fighting high death rate in the water environment. Social awareness arising from knowledge, skills and self-training is an „irreplaceable rescuer” and has a huge impact on limiting drowning accidents. The goal of this work is to analyze drowning in the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in 2011-2019 within the west-Pomeranian province in the background of selected hydrometeorological conditions. Research questions are to indicate the extent to which weather conditions may affect drowning. Detailed analysis allowed to develop a situational profile where drowning incidents are most frequent in the studied area.