VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — With the heat index expected in the 100s for the next several days, it's all hands on deck for lifeguards at the Oceanfront.
The Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service is staying fully staffed through the July 4th holiday, with as many as 80 lifeguards sitting on Oceanfront beaches.
"[Saturday] alone we had over 40 rescues and 50 people pulled out," Tom Gill, Chair of the Lifesaving Service, told News 3.
Due to conditions prime for rip currents, Gill had lifeguards put out the red flags again on Saturday. He recommends swimmers leave the water when the flags are out.
When they're put away, lifeguards ask that people swim near them at all times, so they can reach them in the event of an emergency.
But the extreme heat mixed in with a summer holiday makes the beach a lot busier. Gill's guards are keeping watch on the sands too.
"Number one priority is watch the water, watch the water, watch the water and then, after that, we respond to any medical emergency on this beach," he said. "Stay hydrated, stay in the shade as much as you can. When you get in the water, that's great, it does cool your body off, but understand it does not hydrate you."
Dehydration and overheating can lead to heat illnesses, like heat exhaustion and the more-dangerous heat stroke.
Symptoms for heat exhaustion include excessive sweating with rapid breathing and a rapid pulse. A person's pulse and breathing remains quick but gets weaker in heat stroke, when internal temperature reaches 104 degrees.
Heat stroke is considered life-threatening.
For more information on heat-related illness, click HERE.
