On a busy Jersey Shore weekend, thousands of colorful beach umbrellas dot the sandy shoreline and provide a respite from the heat. But beach-goers need to be cautious, as a visitor from England learned last summer when a gust of wind sent an umbrella flying in Seaside Heights and impaled her leg.

“Most days, it’s not too much of a problem,” Manasquan Chief Lifeguard Doug Anderson said Monday during a press conference to call for an awareness campaign on beach umbrella dangers. But when the wind picks up abruptly, it can catch people off guard, he said.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates that 2,800 people have sought emergency medical assistance for beach umbrella-related injuries from 2010-2018, according to U.S. Sen. Menendez, who called on the commission to launch the safety campaign.

In 2016, a Virginia Beach visitor died after being struck by an umbrella and going into cardiac arrest.

Anderson, a lifeguard for more than 30 years, said there are a number of precautions beach visitors can take to avoid hurting themselves or the people around them. He recommended sand screws that help anchor beach umbrella and sand bags weigh down umbrellas in heavier winds. In addition, people should tilt umbrellas into the wind using a back and forth motion to dig into the sand. Sturdier models tend to fare better in high winds, Anderson said.

"The only things that should be flying through air on a sunny day at the beach should be seagulls and Frisbees — not spear-tipped beach umbrellas that have the potential to claim lives,” Menendez said.

He co-signed a letter to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in May to request the development of a public safety awareness campaign for “the beach umbrellas turned swords flying in the wind.” He is urging the commission to look into security methods like those Anderson mentioned.