Hurricane Erin is maintaining its strength as a major hurricane, churning in the Atlantic Ocean and delivering tropical storm force winds to Turks and Caicos and parts of the Bahamas. Erin’s influence will be increasingly felt along the tri-state area’s coastline during the latter half of the week.

Three flags warn of surf and rip current conditions. Red means a high hazard, yellow means a moderate threat and green means low danger. There’s also purple for dangerous sea life, such as jellyfish, and double red when a beach is closed for any reason.

High Surf Advisory is in effect through Thursday, with the risk of dangerous rip currents stretching across local beaches. Here's what to know.

Rip currents and rough surf cause dozens of deaths each year on the US coasts, so it’s important to check the National Weather Service’s surf-zone forecast before heading to the beach or the boat.

Hurricane Erin is moving closer to the U.S. coast at the start of the workweek. Strong wind and big waves will cause problems for our North Carolina beaches as summer vacations continue.

The girl’s sister, Sameeha Sultana, 13, was found unresponsive about an hour later at 7th Avenue, a block north. Rescue crews and the U.S. Coast Guard pulled her out of the water, and CPR was performed. She was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

On Monday at 3:11 p.m. an updated rip current statement was released by the Nation Service in effect until Wednesday at 8 p.m. for Cape May County.