Shark attacks in Florida: Authorities issue warning on Gulf Coast

SEACREST, Fla. — Authorities are using boats to patrol the ocean and warn swimmers about sharks this weekend along Florida’s Gulf Coast, where three people were injured in two separate shark attacks on Friday.

The attacks on beaches in the Florida Panhandle prompted authorities to temporarily close several beaches to swimmers on Friday. The beaches reopened on Saturday, with flags warning of high risks.

In Walton County, the sheriff’s office, fire department and state wildlife agency were working together to patrol the water with boats and the shoreline with vehicles, the South Walton Fire District said in an update Saturday. Both of Friday’s attacks happened in Walton County.

“Please swim carefully today, respect the Gulf, stay hydrated and take care of your loved ones,” the fire department said on social media.

Red and purple flags were used on Saturday to warn swimmers of the dangers.

“Purple flags indicate the presence of dangerous marine life and single red flags indicate high-risk conditions,” the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post Saturday.

Small fish travel in schools close to shore this time of year, which may have contributed to the attacks, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said.

The first attack happened Friday afternoon when a woman was bitten by a shark near WaterSound Beach, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said. She had serious injuries to her stomach and arm, and part of her arm had to be amputated, South Walton Fire Chief Ryan Crawford said at a news conference. She was taken to a trauma center.

Less than two hours later, firefighters responded to another beach, about 4 miles east of the first attack, “following multiple reports of a teenager injured by a shark,” the sheriff’s office said.

Two teenage girls were standing in waist-deep water with a group of friends when they were attacked, the South Walton Fire District said.

“When lifeguards and police officers arrived on scene, they discovered that one of the women had significant injuries to her upper leg and one of her hands,” firefighters said in an update. She was taken to a trauma center. The other teen had what authorities described as minor injuries to one of her feet.

“It is highly unusual for two of these incidents to happen on the same day,” Crawford said.

The timing of the attacks — mid-afternoon — was also an anomaly, said Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson. He noted that sheriff’s officials often warn people to be on the lookout for sharks in the early morning and dusk, their typical feeding times.

Also on Friday in Hawaii, a woman was seriously injured in an apparent shark attack in the waters off the island of Oahu, authorities said.

Shark attacks are rare, according to experts.

There were 69 unprovoked bites last year worldwide, and 10 of them were fatal, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File. This was higher than the recent average of six deaths per year.