5 students stung by man o’ war - Florida

[DandyDon]

5 stung by man o’ war at Florida beach | WFLA.com

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — Five people were stung by a Portuguese man o’ war at Riviera Beach on Wednesday. Riviera Beach is located in Palm Beach County, north of West Palm Beach.
The Riviera Beach Fire Department said the victims were participating in a scuba diving class.
Three of the victims were adults and two were children, according to a tweet by the fire department.
It happened at Phil Foster Park. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue crews also responded.
South Florida beaches are experiencing a rash of man o’ war stings. Boca Raton Police Services Department warned beachgoers on its Facebook page on Wednesday.
The agency said that more than 200 swimmers were stung in Fort Lauderdale over the past week. Hollywood had 92 stings on Monday and Miami Beach has reported 1,020 stings since Christmas Day. Boca Raton is seeing 10 to 15 stings each day.
Portuguese man o’ war are nicknamed “floating terror” and are often mistaken for jellyfish, according to National Geographic.com. Man o’ war are actually a venomous siphonophore, which is an animal that is made of a colony or organisms.
Their tentacles can extend 165 feet below the water’s surface. The tentacles are covered in venom, which paralyzes their prey. National Geographic says that a man o’ war’s sting is very painful for humans, but not deadly.

 

[drrich2]

Wow. I'd wondered how much of a problem they were in the general Florida/Caribbean region. I also wonder where there's a surge in stinging incidents in Florida lately?

Richard.

 

[THRASH]

Ouch!!!:bee:

 

[knotical]

... I also wonder where there's a surge in stinging incidents in Florida lately? ...

Luck of the [-]draw[/-] wind and currents.

from: Portuguese Man-of-Wars, Portuguese Man-of-War Pictures, Portuguese Man-of-War Facts - National Geographic

Man-of-wars are found, sometimes in groups of 1,000 or more, floating in warm waters throughout the world's oceans. They have no independent means of propulsion and either drift on the currents or catch the wind with their pneumatophores.

 

[USdiver1]

Man, I feel for those folks. Was once stung myself by a Man-O-War. Lots of pain and an angry looking welt along my leg and foot. Hope they recover quickly.

 

[lerpy]

Phil Foster Park, that's Blue Heron bridge I am assuming.

 

[DEEPLOU]

I believe it was just about a year ago that we saw many of these floating along in the Boynton Beach / Del Ray area
Another reason I wear full wet suit /hood even in warm water

 

[Steve_C]

If the skin aint bare, they cannot sting it . Less skin. Less chance of sting.

 

[uncfnp]

Phil Foster Park, that's Blue Heron bridge I am assuming.

Yes. Blue Heron Bridge is the dive at the park.

If the skin aint bare, they cannot sting it . Less skin. Less chance of sting.

I wondered about this. Water seems a little cool for swimsuit or shorties.

 

[letterboy]

Yes. Blue Heron Bridge is the dive at the park.

I wondered about this. Water seems a little cool for swimsuit or shorties.

Unless you come from a place where chain saws are a part of your dive kit this time of year...