00:00Joining us is Chip Riley, Emergency Preparedness Director for Barnstable County, Massachusetts.
00:04Thanks so much for joining us and tell us what your biggest concern right now for Cape Cod
00:08as the storm approaches. Well, we know we're going to have some high sea conditions.
00:13We know there's going to be some rip currents out there. So we're counseling the folks here
00:17on the Cape who are visiting or living here to be conscious if they're going to any of
00:21the south facing beaches. We know there's going to be some big waves and we ask them
00:25to be safe if they're going down to those regions. Yeah, there's a big concern. I would
00:29imagine because again, everybody knows Aaron's well out to sea, but it's the size
00:34of the storm. And that's the concern that people understand that even though the hurricane
00:39is well out to sea, there's rough surf and even some low lying areas are vulnerable to
00:46some flooding, especially during times of high tide. How does that narrow? How does
00:51that impact your plans? Well, fortunately for us, it's a good direction, storm direction
00:58for us. So the northern beaches, the ones are a little more susceptible to coastal flooding.
01:04Our south facing beaches have high dunes and it's not too much of an issue. We do expect
01:10some splash over during high tide tomorrow morning, but it shouldn't be too traumatic.
01:16And that's one of the benefits of living on a peninsula, right? Our south facing beaches
01:19are going to have pretty huge waves, but the north facing beaches in the bay are going to
01:24be nice and calm. And that's where we're encouraging folks to go if they are heading out to the beach.
01:28I love it. Makes sense to me. All right. What steps are being taken by your teams to protect
01:32residents and visitors, especially along the beaches? You said the recommendations to go
01:37to the bay. Anything else? Well, we've been working with our partners up and down the Cape for
01:42about a week now. This is a good wake up call for us. We know we're susceptible to storms here in Cape
01:48Cod. It was a good opportunity to sort of dust off our emergency response plans, to talk to our
01:52partners, to get our systems and procedures up to speed, update our computers, things like that,
01:58make sure our emergency operation centers are ready to go and just communicate. And that's a big thing
02:03we do here on the Cape is communicate in times of disaster. We have a great event going on here
02:08today. I'm down in Provincetown. We're supporting the Provincetown Carnival Parade. So it may be windy
02:13and crazy on the beaches, but there are other things to do here on the Cape and this is a good
02:19opportunity and a good example of that. And again, from an impact to your business and residence,
02:25this seems like the impacts there, you're ready for it, but the adverse effects shouldn't be all
02:32that great, especially the businesses where we're getting to the end of the vacation season.
02:38We do. You know, we may have a rough day tomorrow. We had some rain overnight, but fortunately it's
02:44clearing up now. We may have a rough day tomorrow, but there's other opportunities or other things to
02:49do here on the Cape. And that's great. Like I said, the Bayside beaches are open. Our retail shops are
02:55open. Our folks love to interact with the guests that come to visit us here on the Cape. And there's
03:00plenty of things to do that don't include going to the ocean. It's so tempting. I want to go. I've never
03:05been the way you say the Cape. It just sounds like such a fabulous place to be. And I'm sure you
03:09love it yourself. Chip Riley, Emergency Preparedness Director for Barnesville County, Massachusetts.
03:13Thanks so much for joining us on AccuA the Early.
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