Hurricane Erin shuts down 2 Scituate, Massachusetts beaches due to rough water conditions
Hurricane Erin is forcing some beaches in Massachusetts to close as the storm causes rip currents and strong waves along the East Coast.
Two popular beaches in Scituate, Peggotty and Minot, are now closed due to rough water conditions. Rip currents are expected to worsen in the coming days.
"We take it seriously," said Luke Tasiapoulos from Scituate. "When you live around here in these areas, you take this stuff seriously."
"I would be terrified to swim in the water. If it's rough here, I can only imagine how rough it is over at Minot because it's usually very calm," said Ainsley Ross, who was walking along Peggotty Monday evening.
Surfer Brodey Bersford had no idea the beaches were closed.
"It's kind of a bummer, I think, because I want to go to the beach, and it's the last week of summer for me. You want to be safe. You don't want to get caught in any rip currents or any like big surf or anything," Bersford said.
"I was surfing out there and the surf wasn't very good, but the water was kind of warm, but you could see the rip currents in some of the spots, and you could see the difference in the water, and I was like, 'That could be dangerous.'"
The last day Minot Beach will be staffed with lifeguards is on Wednesday, but Peggotty will have lifeguards until Labor Day.
First responders say that the conditions from Hurricane Erin can complicate rescues, so they ask people to be safe. Officials say they will be keeping an eye on the conditions each day.
Hampton Beach rescues
On Hampton Beach in New Hampshire, lifeguards rescued 144 people in six days because of rip currents. New Hampshire State Beach Patrol said that on August 12, there were 51 rescues.
None of the victims needed medical attention, according to Patrol Chief Patrick Murphy. He did recommend that anyone wanting to go swimming this week should try to stay near a lifeguard and always follow their instructions.
What to do if you are stuck in a rip current
If you find yourself stuck in a rip current, do not try to swim straight to shore. Instead, try not to panic and swim parallel to shore. This will help you travel out of the rip current grip and not tire yourself out while trying to fight the current.
Officials recommend swimming on beaches with lifeguards and understanding the signs of a rip current, which include a difference in water color, a narrow gap of calmer water around waves, foam or seaweed moving out to sea, and churning choppy water, according to the United States Lifeguard Association.