Travel Lens ranked Panama City Beach in Florida and Gulf Shores in Alabama as the fourth– and ninth–most dangerous U.S. beaches, respectively.
These rankings were based on a variety of factors, including the frequency of hurricanes that have impacted each beach from 1851 to 2020.
While rare, shark attacks also played a role in the rankings.
The Travel Lens analysis did not take into account hurricane–related fatalities, only whether hurricanes occurred.
This means that while tourists may face inconveniences due to storms, the risk of fatalities remains relatively low, as long as people heed the warnings of weather forecasters.
Shark attacks are rare and fatalities from them are even rarer. In comparison, jellyfish stings are much more common and can be quite painful.
Therefore, beach tourists should be wary of jellyfish stings rather than shark attacks.
Another factor contributing to beach fatalities was the disregard of warnings for hazardous water conditions, such as when a hurricane is approaching.
