Swim skills vital for kids

Pilbara residents are being urged to supervise their children and stay safe in the water.

Royal Life Saving Society data revealed an average of four children under the age of five drown in WA each year.

In 2016, 37 people drowned in WA, with 15 fatalities in the Pilbara between 2003 and 2013.

Royal Life Saving WA chief executive Peter Leaversuch said one of the main concerns for drowning incidents in the Pilbara was extreme weather conditions, including the risk of flooding and flowing waterways.

“All children have the opportunity to learn to swim and survive. There are great opportunities in the Pilbara, we’ve just got to do them the right way," he said.

“It’s important to raise community awareness because while the weather might seem like a passive place, water levels might change.”

He said a major challenge was how well Perth could provide skilled lifesavers to pass on the appropriate knowledge and build a network of water safety people in regional areas.

He said it was also a challenge to keep children in swimming programs in Pilbara communities, adding the organisation was starting to focus more on additional programs to teach children to learn lifesaving skills, as well as being taught how to swim.