Hurricane Ernesto was hundreds of miles from the U.S. on Saturday when it made landfall in Bermuda, but rip current and high surf warnings suggest the storm could pose a weekend threat to East Coast beaches.
More than 1 million people were under high surf advisories, while nearly 10 million people lived in areas with reports for rip currents. National Weather Service On Saturday. (Rip currents can prove a dangerous hazard for beachgoers far from a hurricane’s center.)
In North Carolina, at least one waterfront home collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean. Local fire and rescue crews As shown in a video released Friday evening. Officials said several more houses from Ernesto are at risk of collapse.
“Ocean conditions will be dangerous for swimming now due to high surf and scattered debris,” Chicamacomico Banks Fire and Rescue said in a social media post. “Please be careful.”
In New York CityOfficials closed beaches in Brooklyn and Queens over the weekend due to dangerous rip currents from Ernesto. New Jersey officials warned of dangerous and life-threatening currents Jersey Shore.
Hurricane Ernesto is expected to continue to batter Bermuda with heavy rain and wind as the storm begins its slow northward track toward Canada. National Hurricane Center He said.
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Ernesto had already left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in Puerto Rico without power and running water when it hit the island on Wednesday.
Dozens of rescues have been reported by New Jersey lifeguards
At the southern tip of New Jersey, Cape May Beach posted a double red flag warning against entering the water on Saturday. Rich Demers of the Cape May Beach Patrol said people followed up on those calls as the wind picked up Saturday afternoon.
By Friday afternoon, lifeguards had rescued 40 people from the water, prompting them to issue double red flags, Demers said. Currents were strong again Saturday, and the Coast Patrol is expected to issue another double red flag warning Sunday.
“Anytime it’s a little bit, be cautious,” he told USA Today. “Educate yourself about what rip currents are.”
2 people drown on Hilton Head, South Carolina
Two people drowned on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island on Friday, the local sheriff’s office said. The picturesque resort town and its surrounding area looked out High Rip current risk Hurricane Ernesto moved far out to sea in the Atlantic Ocean.
Around 10:30 a.m. Friday, Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a drowning call. Coast Patrol and emergency medical personnel performed life-saving measures on 65-year-old Ralph Jamieson. Witnesses said Jamison was caught in a rip current before drowning, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Just after 3:20 p.m., deputies responded to another drowning call about 3 miles away. Witnesses saw 73-year-old Leonard Schenz go into the water. The sheriff’s office said local firefighters were involved in life-saving operations.
The National Weather Service Charleston Office A dangerous rip current risk remains in effect Saturday along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts, he said.
How a Rip Current Works
The rip current risk extends almost entirely along the East Coast, National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said in a statement. Saturday morning update. He emphasized that distant cyclones are deadly.
National Weather Service offices Maine to do FloridaWarning of dangerous rip currents this weekend.
“Only go into the ocean if you think it’s safe, and follow any advice given by local lifeguards,” Brennan said. “To avoid becoming a statistic about Ernesto’s dangerous sea conditions, please heed those warning flags along the coast.”
But what are rip currents? USA TODAY previously reported that rip currents are short, strong currents that flow quickly away from shore. They are strong. Normally, they move between 1 and 2 feet per second, but they can move faster than any Olympic swimmer at 8 feet per second, or 5.5 mph. They are usually no more than 80 feet wide.
Normally, when waves hit the beach, the water flows back into the sea in a uniform fashion. But low-lying areas on the sea floor, near breakwaters or sandbars, can disrupt uniform water circulation. Thus, water flows faster through an area A powerful tearing current outwards.
If you’re caught in the current, relax. Rip current pulls you out, not under. Float or tread water until you escape or are rescued. Then, swim parallel to the shore, not against the current. Try to get attention by yelling or waving.
Check conditions before entering the water and learn to recognize currents. Always swim at the beach with a lifeguard.
Bermuda remains in hurricane status hours after Ernesto passes
Bermuda Weather Service director Michelle Pitcher said in a statement that Bermuda was still experiencing a hurricane just hours after Ernesto passed. Saturday afternoon presentation.
The eye of the storm had already passed by 8:30 a.m. local time, but Bermuda was still under a hurricane warning as of Saturday afternoon, Pitcher said. Earlier Saturday morning, Ernesto had sustained 89-mph sustained winds and gusts of 109 mph at the Bermuda National Museum, west of the capital city of Hamilton.
Later on Saturday, Bermuda still saw hurricane conditions, with 74-mph winds and 89 mph gusts. The archipelago is expected to see tropical storm force winds through midnight along with a few inches of rain as Ernesto moves north, Pitcher said.
In Bermuda, nearly three-quarters were without power while officials waited to assess the damage
Officials say Hurricane Ernesto has cut power to three-quarters of Bermuda. Morning explanation.
Bermudians are being urged to stay indoors so there is no major damage, said Lyndon Rayner, director of Bermuda’s Risk Reduction Management Committee. About 11 people were in emergency shelters, which means people are staying home, Reiner said.
However, first responders will begin to fully assess the damage as conditions improve. of Bermuda sidewalkA major road through the archipelago is closed due to the typhoon. Inspections by structural engineers to reopen it won’t occur until at least daylight Sunday morning, Reiner said.
Almost 64,000 people live in Bermuda, a collection of islands that is a British overseas territory.
“We need Bermudians, we need residents, to stay off the streets and stay in shelter,” said National Security Minister Michael Weeks, “so we can weather this storm safely and confidently, without major damage and/or damage. Injury and/or Loss of life.”
Local authorities say an Outer Banks home has collapsed into the Atlantic
At least one home collapsed on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Friday evening, Chicamacomico Banks Fire and Rescue was posted Video Shows a two-storey house.
“Another house collapsed due to swell from Ernesto,” said a social media post by a local fire and rescue agency. “Please do not enter the sea as debris will be floating around for the next few days. Cleanup efforts will be announced by the Park Service.
The agency said more houses in the area are at risk of collapse. “We’re in for a tough weekend,” the department said in another Position Shows damage from collapse.
Where is Hurricane Ernesto?
Even when a hurricane is far out to sea, rip currents can kill
A hurricane’s strong winds can cause dangerous waves, which pose a significant risk to mariners and coastal residents and visitors, according to the Hurricane Center. When waves break on the coast, they can create deadly rip currents – even far from the storm.
A statement The American Meteorological Society published last year The percentage of direct deaths from tropical-cyclone-related rip currents has doubled in recent years. The authors found that one or two deaths at a time often occurred from distant storms hundreds of miles away.
In 2008, although Hurricane Bertha was 1,000 miles away, the storm killed three people off the New Jersey coast and required 1,500 lifeguard rescues in Ocean City, Maryland over a 1-week period.
“The reason rip currents are so deadly is because all the other hazards in a hurricane have a visual cue,” the hurricane center’s Jamie Rome said earlier.
‒ Doyle Rice and Tina Voyles Bulver
When is Atlantic hurricane season?
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.
The peak of the season is Sept. 10, according to the Hurricane Center, with peak activity from mid-August to mid-October.
Contribution: Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY; John Callas and Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY Network.
Follow Mike Snyder on X and Threads: @MikeSnider & mikegsnider.
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