Is it safe to swim at the beach after Irma?

It is probably best to stay out of the water for a couple of days.

Debris could continue to wash up from Tropical Storm Irma, Mike Wagner, Hilton Head Island Beach Shore Services operational manager, said Wednesday.

“I don’t really know if there is debris out there but I would probably have people give it a couple days,” Wagner said. “There is a lot of different things that could be out there from anywhere.”

When venturing back into the water, swimmers should also be wary of areas of the beach that were washed out during the storm.

“Sometimes these washouts create channels where the runoff occurred and that could cause a rip current,” Wagner said. “I would be a little more aware at looking out for that sort of thing.”

Wagner also said that a lot of staff evacuated with the storm. He said it could take a couple more days to get people back to work, which means the beaches could be without lifeguards.

“Hopefully we will be staffing the guard stations by the weekend,” Wagner said.

This story was originally published September 13, 2017 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Is it safe to swim at the beach after Irma?."