BATON ROUGE - Those planning a beach trip this summer are urged to be cautious of rip currents, especially as Hurricane Beryl makes its way through the Gulf of Mexico.

"It will take you from underneath the water it's like a pull that you don't expect and once you feel that pull, it's like an undertow but stronger. It's like a circular motion from my memory It has the potential to take your legs and just go straight far out real fast it's like something is pulling you like an engine or something," survival swim instructor Ashley Spencer said.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there have already been 17 deaths due to rip currents this year, with 10 being in the South.

Rip currents are responsible for roughly 100 deaths each year, but they can be easily prevented. They usually happen not far from shore and can take swimmers as far as 100 yards offshore.

Spencer told WBRZ the most important thing to do is float on your back.

"In a riptide, the number one thing is do not swim against it and fight. Our natural instinct is to fight it and try to do that and it actually pulls you further out which is very scary. The best thing to do, and I've done this personally, is just let it take you with it cause it's not going to be long you just have to find the water line and the sky," Spencer said.

Spencer says if you float and allow the current to take you, you should only be in the rip current for roughly thirty seconds. Once out of it, you should swim at an angle back to shore, she said.

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