DELMARVA - Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach have announced the closure of ocean access Monday as rough waters lash Delmarva’s coastline.
Hurricane Erin, while currently not projected to make landfall here on Delmarva, is expected to bring increasingly rough waters to our beaches throughout the week, according to WBOC Chief Meteorologist Mike Lichniak.
Dewey Beach officials say the dangerous waves and rip currents have only increased since this morning, Aug. 18, with wind speeds tripling since 9 a.m. Though the beaches remain open, beachgoers are restricted from entering the water.
“We have about 20 guards down on the beach today, their down there on the beach keeping folks out of the water, and they’ll be here the rest of the week as rough seas occur," said Dewey Beach Town Manager Bill Zolper.
Zolper said they are ready to keep safety at the forefront with more difficult conditions forecasted,
"This would be the JV before the varsity game that’s gonna be coming up on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday when Erin is somewhere off our coast. We are expecting four, to eight foot swells," Zolper said.
In Rehoboth, swimming was prohibited under a red flag advisory due to the high winds and heavy surf as of about noon, according to city officials.
“This morning, it started out pretty calm - but we saw as the minutes went by, so was the surf, and the wind." said Rehoboth Beach Patrol Chief of Daily Operations Nico Caceres, "By the time we were out by out stands, the wind was pounding, the surf was very choppy, rip currents were popping up, in the matter of just the morning we saw the change progress very very quickly.”
Caceres says they are expecting to keep the beaches closed until Friday
"We've got our no swimming flags that are prepped and ready to go, we've got all of our equipment." said Caceres, "These winds are very strong, so, we're very prepared to keep the public out of the waves."
On Monday night, officials from the Town of Fenwick Island announced that they’d be restricting beach access until further notice due to the dangerous surf conditions. The town says their lifeguards will be monitoring conditions and will reopen the beach once the storm passes. They add that areas throughout the town are experiencing power outages and that Delmarva Power is working to restore power by 9:00pm.
The Maryland State Parks posted to their official Facebook page on Monday that Assateague State Park would be closed due to surf conditions. There are no further details on when those closures would be lifted.
This article will be updated as more coastal communities implement restrictions.
