Several popular beaches in New Jersey and Delaware will be closed to swimmers on Tuesday, in the middle of the summer tourist season, as Hurricane Erin brings dangerous rip currents to the East Coast.
The Category 3 storm was churning through the Atlantic, several hundred miles east of the Carolinas, on Tuesday morning. Portions of the Outer Banks of North Carolina were under a state of emergency and a mandatory evacuation order.
Even though Erin is expected to turn away from the East Coast, a number of beaches from New York to Florida face a high risk of rip currents through Wednesday evening, according to the National Weather Service. Rip currents have been blamed for at least one death in New Jersey in the past week.
High waves are also in the forecast this week for parts of New York City, Long Island, New Jersey and New England. Beaches in Suffolk and Nassau countries on Long Island could see breaking waves as high as 11 to 15 feet on Thursday, the Weather Service said in a high surf advisory.
The beach closures in New Jersey, announced on Monday, affect Margate, Wildwood and Bay Head on the Jersey Shore. Island Beach State Park will be closed through at least Thursday.
Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey urged people not to swim in the ocean over the next few days, citing the risk of rip currents and high waves.
In Delaware, the towns of Dewey Beach and Fenwick Island, as well as the city of Rehoboth Beach — where President Biden and his family have vacationed for decades — issued swimming prohibitions on Monday. Rehoboth Beach said on social media that heavy surf and rip currents would likely increase through Thursday.
Assateague State Park in Maryland was also closed for swimming on Monday because of dangerous surf conditions, according to the state parks system.
Storms that are close to shore create lightning, wind, rain and other indications of danger. With far-off storms that can bring dangerous rip currents, there may be fewer visible signs of risk. That means a person entering the ocean on a sunny day may not realize it’s unsafe to swim.
At least three dozen people in the United States have drowned in surf so far this summer. Most were caught in rip currents, according to the National Weather Service.
One swimmer died and four others were rescued from the waters off Seaside Heights, N.J., after they were caught in a rip current on Aug. 11, when lifeguards were off-duty, the authorities said.
In July, a man died after rushing into the surf in Pawleys Island, S.C., to save swimmers in a rip current, the police said.
Yan Zhuang contributed reporting.
Mike Ives is a reporter for The Times based in Seoul, covering breaking news around the world.
The post Beaches Close in Mid-Atlantic as Hurricane Erin Brings Deadly Rip Currents appeared first on New York Times.
