New York City closed its beaches in Brooklyn and Queens this weekend to protect swimmers from Hurricane Ernesto's deadly rip currents, which killed two men in South Carolina.
"We strongly urge all New Yorkers not to risk their lives by ignoring this directive," Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue said, the New York Daily News reported Saturday.
Two men drowned off South Carolina's Hilton Head Island on Friday, local TV station WJCL reported, citing the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue.
The first victim, in his 60s, died in the morning, followed by a man in his 70s while swimming n the late afternoon, WJCL said.
Neither man was identified.
Ernesto made landfall on Bermuda as a Category 1 hurricane early Saturday, bringing heavy rains and strong winds that left more than 26,000 people without power, the Associated Press reported.
It had sustained winds of 75 mph and was located about 85 miles northeast of Bermuda and moving north-northeast at 6 mph late Saturday afternoon.
The eye of the storm expanded as it passed over the island from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. local time, and a maximum total of 9 inches of rain was expected.
"This rainfall will likely result in considerable life-threatening flash flooding, especially in low-lying areas on the island," the National Hurricane Center said.
Life-threatening surf and rip currents were forecast along the U.S. East Coast and expected to reach Canada, with the slow-moving storm expected to pass near southeastern Newfoundland late Monday, AP said.
