Red flagged beach?

Question

I was looking at a hotel in mexico and on one of the reviews it said the beach was red flagged a few days. Does that mean you cant swim in the ocean when its red flagged?????

Answer 1

. A red flag usually signifies a closed beach, yellow signifies strong current or difficult swimming conditions, and green represents a beach safe for general swimming. Blue flags may also be used away from the yellow-red lifesaver area to designate a zone for surfboarding and other small, non-motorized watercraft.

Some reasons for closing the beach could include:

No lifeguards in attendance,waves too strong ,dangerous rip current,sharks or jellyfish or a tsunami.It might also indicate a raw sewage situation.Often they are temporary until the danger has passed and/or been resolved. I wouldn't be too concerned as there are hundreds of miles of beaches there and a closure is usually confined to a very small area for a short period of time.

Answer 2

Red flagged means bad things in the water in general.  It can also mean lots of Jelly Fish are floating near the beach.  Or sea lice which you certainly don't want.  If you go pack a small bottle of vinegar for jelly fish stings, it will quit hurting in 10 minutes.  Works almost as well as store bought remedies.

I would avoid red flagged beaches like the plague.

Answer 3

Red flags means it is dangerous to go into the water because of rip currents.