Lifeguards and fire rescue crews in Hollywood Beach are on alert as red warning flags and safety signs go up, urging visitors to avoid the water altogether.

Hurricane Erin is moving east of the U.S. coast and will bring strong waves and rip currents to Florida's east coast – and it comes as the National Center is eyeing two more tropical waves in the Atlantic.

South Florida is not forecast to see direct impacts from Hurricane Erin, but rip currents and surf up to 6 feet, especially along Palm Beach, are likely.

Erin’s surf and storm surge could cause erosion along sections of the Florida and East Coast and shapes up as potentially worse for North Carolina’s barrier islands, which are under mandatory evacuation orders ahead of the four feet of storm surge and 20-foot offshore waves Erin is expected to bring.

Hurricane Erin is expected to run parallel to the Eastern Seaboard, posing threats of life-threatening surf and dangerous rip currents to areas like New Jersey, New York and Long Island throughout the week. Florida’s small businesses are paying the price.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says even though Erin is forecast to stay offshore by hundreds of miles, he is urging people to avoid the water for the next few days. The Category 2 storm is now churning over the Atlantic Ocean north of the Caribbean.