The first Rip Current Awareness Week in American Samoa concluded this past Friday evening with a Floating Lantern Ceremony to remember those in the territory that lost their lives due to Rip Currents and other water related drownings.

A national event observed throughout the United States, it was hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, American Samoa Department of Homeland Security, TEMCO and participating partners.

Held from June 1- 6, the purpose of the week was to inform the public about the dangers of rip currents and how to get out of them, as well as to remember those that lost their lives in the water.

Friday’s floating lantern with lit candle event drew close to 500 people, and was held behind the market place in Fagatogo with the names of friends and loved ones who lost their lives in the water written on the sides of the lanterns.

Some people brought their own specially made lanterns to place in the water to remember someone dear to them. Samoa News should point out in the well-known floating lantern ceremony held in Hawai’i as part of the national Memorial Day event, the lanterns are collected, cleaned and re-used the following year.

One specially made lantern was made by Bernard Scanlan, who lost his uncle Eric Scanlan in a rip current in 1962. Eric Scanlan was an appointed Lt. Governor of American Samoa at the time he drowned.

“Today we remember our uncle and give tribute to his memory with our lantern ceremony and all of those who have died due to rip currents,” said his nephew. “The ocean can be our friend, but it can also bring us great tragedy. With the new knowledge we have about these ocean challenges, we can avoid tragic and sudden deaths,” he said.

“Today, my family launches this lantern in memory of our late uncle Eric Scanlan. We are comforted to know that our uncle, has joined his brother Herbert and that one day, we will all be united again,” he said.

For the ceremony, many of the floating lanterns were passed out to people who shared stories about drownings and near drownings — of loved ones, relatives and friends, as they waited to launch their lanterns. Part of the ceremony was lovely acoustical guitar music and song, as the lanterns began to float away from the dock.

The drowning statistics in American Samoa from 2011 to 2013 according to the Department of Public Safety Marine Patrol are as follows:

Year            Total Incidents            Rescued            Found Deceased            Never Recovered

2011            5            2            0            3

2012            11            7            1            3

2013            11            9            2            0

Total            27            18            3            6