A Florida resident, frustrated to find a dangerously deep hole at the beach, filmed a video warning beachgoers not to engage in such behavior.
"Don't leave holes on the beach and then leave them for other people to clean up," said TikToker Chloe Lynn (@chloelynnrichardss). In the video, one of her friends can be shown slipping into the hole.
@chloelynnrichardss apparantly knee height is ok to dig & then fill the hole before you leave ppl ! this was way too deep. digging holes in the sand can cave in trapping whoever is in the hole. it is also easy for ppl to fall in or trip resulting in an injury. be responsible out there 🫶🏼
♬ original sound - Chloe Lynn
While digging a hole and refilling it with packed sand is acceptable, Chloe points out that "this was way too deep. Digging holes in the sand can cave in, trapping whoever is in the hole."
"Be responsible out there," she concluded.
"Thank you for filling it in!!!" one person wrote. "... So, so bad."
Several commenters were confused — a hole seems innocent, and sand doesn't look like it would be deadly. But sand collapses claim "at least a few" human lives each year, according to Slate.
"You probably just saved someone's life," another commenter wrote. "People don't understand that leaving holes on the beach can suffocate people if the tide is high and they fall in and sand starts collapsing on them."
Indeed, the death of a 7-year-old girl made headlines in February after she and her brother were trapped in a collapse while digging a hole. Rescuers were able to pull them out, but the girl had no pulse and was declared dead at the hospital, according to The New York Times.
A survey from The New England Journal of Medicine found that over "primarily" a 10-year period, over 50% of reported sand-hole-related incidents were fatal. By comparison, only 10% of reported shark bites each year are fatal, according to a report from the Florida Museum of Natural History, per Science News.
Another commenter pointed out that the holes don't just threaten human beachgoers — they're dangerous to everyone who frequents the beach, particularly marine life such as sea turtles.
A steep hole can trap and expose turtle hatchlings (which are protected in Florida) to predators when they're already vulnerable. Additionally, these holes can trap other shallow-dwelling sea life when the high tide recedes.
All in all, it's crucial that beachgoers treat the beach not as a plaything, but as a natural environment with its own checks and balances that should be respected. Leaving major alterations behind when visiting property that is not your own always has potential to result in unintended consequences.
"Thank you for saving others," one person concluded.
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