New data from the National Weather Service reveals that Panama City Beach has had the highest number of deaths in the country so far this year.

According to reports, the Florida beach is considered the deadliest in the United States after three tourists died last weekend while swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.

Although it is unknown whether the victims died from drowning or had some other medical problem while in the water, authorities said they were caught in rip currents, adding to the data tracked by the government agency.

“The conditions at the time were severe, with double red flags indicating extreme water hazards,” the city said.

Now, the Weather Service has recorded a total of seven people dead on the beach in the last nine days, all of them due to rip currents flowing in the opposite direction to the shore and posing a significant risk to swimmers.

The number of deaths at Panama City Beach is the highest tracked by the government agency in 2023. The total could continue to grow, as statistics show that the number of undertow deaths has increased nationwide in recent years.

In fact, according to the Weather Service, on the beaches of Tallahassee, Florida, and Mobile, Alabama alone, 195 rip current deaths have been recorded since 2022.

“That is more than the fatalities of flooding, tornadoes, lightning, and tropical storms/hurricanes combined!” the agency reported.

The Panama City Beach Police Department stressed the importance of people paying attention to red flag warnings due to the risks involved.

Tommy Ford, Bay County Sheriff, reminded that people may be ticketed for entering the water while the double red flag is flying, indicating that a complete ban on swimmers is in place.

“We don’t have the resources or time to cite every single person that enters the water, but we do our absolute best to use it as a deterrent to entering the water,” he reported, assuring that the penalty for such an infraction is $500.