Delaware and Jersey Shore beaches were closed to swimmers on Tuesday, Aug. 19, with Hurricane Erin carrying life-threatening rip currents as the storm's path tracks near the East Coast.
Mandatory evacuations continued Monday along parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks, where a state of emergency was in effect as the Category 3 storm barreled through the Atlantic several hundred miles from the Carolina coastline, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Hurricane Erin was sustaining maximum winds of 110 mph, with higher gusts reported, as the storm's path continued northwest, with forecasters at the NHC predicting Erin will turn away from the East Coast. Still, vacationers at beaches across the East Coast were forced to forgo the final days of summer sand as high waves and rip currents whip up the surf. Last week at the Jersey Shore, a 13-year-old girl died at Belmar beach and a 31-year-old Trenton man drowned as lifeguards pulled seven from the beach in Seaside Heights.
Here's the latest on beach closures in Delaware and New Jersey.
Jersey Shore beaches closed
Jersey shore beaches that closed due to Hurricane Erin were announced Monday, Aug. 19, and affect Wildwood, Margate, and Bay Head. At Island Beach State Park, swimming, surfing, boogie boarding, mobile sport fishing vehicle permit access, and nature center programs were suspended through at least Thursday, Aug. 21, the state park posted on Facebook. Visitors were still allowed to walk on the beach for fishing and other activities.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy urged visitors and residents to avoid wading or swimming in the ocean, citing the dangerous rip currents and high waves.
Delaware beaches closed
Hurricane Erin's powerful rip currents and surf have also closed Delaware beaches in the towns of Fenwick Island and Dewey Beach. Beaches also closed in Rehoboth Beach, where former President Joe Biden and his family have vacationed for years.
Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: List of Del, Jersey shore beaches closed as Hurricane Erin tracks near
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