Despite being hundreds of miles offshore, Hurricane Ernesto is already affecting the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, leading to the closure of public beaches due to dangerous rip currents during one of the last busy summer weekends.
The storm’s high surf and swells have caused damage along the coast, such as the collapse of an unoccupied beach house into the water on North Carolina’s barrier islands.
Hurricane specialist Philippe Papin from the National Hurricane Center mentioned that even after making landfall on Bermuda, Ernesto remains a significant threat along the central Florida Atlantic coastline up to Long Island in New York with high seas and rip current dangers.
Officials in New York City closed ocean-facing beaches for swimming and wading in Brooklyn and Queens due to the predicted dangerous rip currents and ocean swells up to 6 feet, advising people to stay out of the water.
Authorities also warned of hazardous rip currents along Delaware, New Jersey, and Massachusetts beaches, urging swimmers to be cautious. In North Carolina, a house collapsed in Rodanthe, with no injuries reported, and other homes showing damage.
Barrier islands like Cape Hatteras are becoming more susceptible to storm surges and erosion due to rising sea levels caused by climate change, making properties vulnerable to damage.
The National Park Service advised visitors to avoid Rodanthe beaches and the water this weekend due to dangerous debris and announced the closure of a portion of national seashore land until next week for debris removal.
The National Weather Service issued coastal flooding and high surf advisories for the Outer Banks through early Monday and warned of rip currents and large waves extending to Virginia and Maryland beaches.
In Bermuda, tens of thousands of utility customers lost power as the category 1 storm hit the island, with predictions of heavy rainfall that could cause flash flooding.
