Officials urge people to avoid water
(Providence-AP) -- State and local authorities are urging people to stay out of the water today, when swells from Hurricane Isabel are expected to crescendo along the state�s southern coast.
Already, A Massachusetts man has died while swimming off Narragansett�s Black Point near
Scarborough State Beach.
The state Department of Environmental Management closed beaches to swimming on Labor Day. It has some rangers patrolling the beaches.
But they can�t stop people form going in the water.
The National Weather Service predicts swells of nine to 14 feet by this afternoon in Block Island and Rhode Island sounds. Normal swells are from one to three feet.
The swells could be as high as 20 feet offshore.
High tide is expected at 2:30 p-m. today in Newport.
Meteorologists say one danger from high surf are the powerful riptides.
|
