The New England region is bracing for coastal flooding and rip currents influenced by Hurricane Erin as the storm continues to track northward offshore heading into this weekend.

Barnstable County

Authorities in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, are preparing for the effects of Hurricane Erin, which is expected to cause high sea conditions, rip currents, and potential flooding in low-lying areas, especially during high tides. Emergency Preparedness Director Chip Riley emphasized that while the hurricane remains offshore, its size is generating rough surf and large waves, particularly at south-facing beaches, prompting officials to advise caution and recommend visiting calmer north-facing beaches.

Emergency teams have been coordinating with local partners to update response plans and ensure readiness. While some splash-over and minor flooding are anticipated, significant impacts are not expected. Local businesses and alternative activities remain available for residents and visitors, as officials stress the importance of communication and preparedness during the storm.

New England prepares for coastal flooding from Hurricane Erin

Joining us is Chip Riley, Emergency Preparedness Director for Barnesville County, Massachusetts. Thanks so much for joining us. And tell us what your biggest concern right now for Cape Cod as a storm approaches. Well, we know we're gonna have some high sea conditions. We know there's gonna be some rip currents out there. So we're counseling the folks here on the Cape who are visiting or living here to be conscious if they're going to any of the south-facing beaches. We know there's gonna be some big waves and we ask them to be safe if they're going down to those regions. Yeah, and there's a big concern, I would imagine, because again, everybody knows Aaron's well out to sea, but it's the size of the storm. And that's the concern that people understand that even though the hurricane is well out to sea, there's rough surf and even some low-lying areas are vulnerable to some flooding, especially during times of high tides. How does that impact your plans? Well, fortunately for us, it's a good direction, storm direction for us. So the northern beaches, the ones a little more susceptible to coastal flooding, our south-facing beaches have high dunes and it's not too much of an issue. We do expect some splash over during high tide tomorrow morning, but it shouldn't be too traumatic. And that's one of the benefits of living on a peninsula, right? Our south-facing beaches are gonna have pretty huge waves, but the north-facing beaches in the Bay are gonna be nice and calm. And that's where we're encouraging folks to go if they are heading out to the beach. Well, that makes sense to me. All right, what steps are being taken by your teams to protect residents and visitors, especially along the beaches? You said the recommendations to go to the Bay. Anything else? Well, we've been working with our partners up and down the Cape for about a week now. This is a good wake-up call for us. We know we're susceptible to storms here in Cape Cod. It was a good opportunity to sort of dust off our emergency response plans, to talk to our partners, to get our systems and procedures up to speed, update our computers, things like that, make sure our emergency operation centers are ready to go, and just communicate. And that's a big thing we do here on the Cape is communicate in times of disaster. We have a great event going on here today. I'm down in Provincetown. We're supporting the Provincetown Carnival Parade. So it may be windy and crazy on the beaches, but there are other things to do here on the Cape, and this is a good opportunity and a good example of that. And again, from an impact to your business and residents, this seems like the impacts, they're there, you're ready for it, but the adverse effects shouldn't be all that great, especially the businesses where we're getting to the end of the vacation season. We do. You know, we may have a rough day tomorrow. We had some rain overnight, but fortunately it's clearing up now. We may have a rough day tomorrow, but there's other opportunities or other things to do here on the Cape, and that's great. Like I said, the Bayside beaches are open. Our retail shops are open. Our folks love to interact with the guests that come to visit us here on the Cape, and there's plenty of things to do that don't include going to the ocean. It's so tempting. I want to go. I've never been. The way you say the Cape, it just sounds like such a fabulous place to be, and I'm sure you love it yourself. Jeff Reilly, Emergency Preparedness Director for Barnesville County, Massachusetts. Thanks so much for joining us on AccuWeather Early.

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