Hurricane Ernesto hits Bermuda and poses danger to US beaches
Hurricane Ernesto hit Bermuda as a hurricane. It will cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the east coast of the United States.
Millions of Americans planning to spend a few more days at the beach before schools reopened were warned Sunday that waves from Storm Ernesto, which re-strengthened into a hurricane on Sunday, posed a serious threat to swimmers along much of the Atlantic coast.
The National Hurricane Center said “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” were expected in the coming days and beachgoers should stay out of the water under the direction of lifeguards. National Weather Service offices from Maine to Florida warned of dangerous rip currents.
Ernesto, centered 520 miles south of Halifax, Canada, gained strength as its maximum sustained winds increased from 70 to 75 mph, just above the threshold for a Category 1 hurricane. The storm was moving north-northeast at 17 mph. Ernesto was expected to gain some speed and turn east-northeast in the coming days.
At least three deaths have been attributed to Ernesto after two men drowned off Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, on Friday and an unconscious swimmer was found in the waters of Surf City, North Carolina, on Saturday. The hurricane center said dangerous surf and rip current conditions are also possible in the Bahamas, Bermuda and Atlantic Canada in the coming days.
“Don’t become a statistic”: Hurricane Ernesto brings rip currents to millions of people
Developments:
∎ The New York Department of Parks & Recreation banned swimming at beaches in Queens and Brooklyn on Sunday.
∎ The center of weakened storm Ernesto is expected to pass near southeastern Newfoundland, Canada, Monday evening into Tuesday morning.
∎ In New Jersey, emergency officials advised beachgoers not to go into the water when lifeguards are not on duty: “Keep your feet in the sand until the lifeguards get there!” Dozens of rescues have been reported in recent days.
The National Weather Service has reported a third death due to rip currents generated by Ernesto along the Atlantic coast.
Two lifeguards from the Surf City Fire Department in North Carolina responded to a swimmer’s distress call at 2:46 p.m. Saturday, the city said in a news release. The lifeguards found Sean Davis, 41, of Hampstead, North Carolina, unconscious in the water. Rescue efforts were attempted on the beach, the city said, but Davis did not survive.
Elsewhere along the North Carolina coast, 23 rescues were reported Saturday due to surf rip currents, in Wrightsville Beach, five in Carolina Beach and another in Kure Beach, the weather service said.
− Dinah Voyle’s Powder
In the town of Rodanthe on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue posted photos of the destroyed remains of a coastal home that was washed into the Atlantic Ocean. Numerous other homes are at risk of collapse due to Ernesto, the agency said in a series of social media posts. The debris in the water poses an additional danger to swimmers, the agency warned.
“Today and tomorrow, there is a high risk of rip currents, waves and salvos in Rodanthe,” the agency warned. “Ocean entry is discouraged.”
Rip currents are narrow, strong currents that flow quickly away from the shore. They usually move at about 30 to 60 cm per second, but they can be as fast as 2.4 m per second or 8.8 km/h, faster than any Olympic swimmer. They are usually no more than 24 m wide.
When waves hit the beach, water usually flows evenly back out to sea. But deep spots in the seabed, near the surf, or breaks in sandbars disrupt this even flow of water. This causes water to rush through an area, creating a strong outward rip current. If you get caught in a rip current, relax. Rifts pull you out, not under. Float or tread water until you can escape or are rescued.
Authorities in Bermuda were pleased that Ernesto caused less damage than expected before moving further north.
Ernesto was forecast to reach the British Isles as a Category 3 hurricane with devastating winds of at least 178 km/h after meandering through the warm western Atlantic waters for two days. However, the storm weakened somewhat and reached the British Isles on Saturday morning as a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of up to 143 km/h.
Ernesto still left nearly three-quarters of Bermuda without power as it uprooted trees and flooded streets, but no major injuries or damage were reported. It helped that the vast majority of the archipelago’s 64,000 residents appeared to follow government orders to stay in their homes during the storm’s peak.
“I am pleased to report that there have been no calls for major incidents or property damage. The calls we have received over the past six hours have primarily been related to flooding,” Lyndon Raynor, risk management officer, said in an update Saturday.
Ernesto is the fifth named storm and third hurricane of the current season, which has not yet reached its peak and is expected to be significantly more active than usual. The season runs from June 1 to November 30 and typically peaks between late August and late September.
The latest forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calls for 17 to 24 named storms and 8 to 13 hurricanes. The forecast predicts that 4 to 7 of the storms will reach “major” status, meaning at least one Category 3 hurricane with at least 110 mph sustained winds. The annual average is 14.4 named storms, 7.2 hurricanes and 3.2 major storms.
When Hurricane Beryl became the first Category 5 hurricane on July 1, it warned of the season’s potential for extremely destructive storms, fed by the unusually warm waters in the Atlantic. It was followed by Hurricanes Debby and Ernesto, which caused most of their destruction by dumping massive amounts of rain and causing widespread flooding rather than by blowing away infrastructure with their fierce winds.
Contributors: Mike Snider and Eduardo Cuevas
