Myrtle Beach implements swim ban as Hurricane Dorian moves closer to East Coast

Heading to the beach for today? That’s fine — as long you don’t plan to get in the ocean.

The Myrtle Beach Fire Department announced Sunday on Twitter the implementation of double red flag status — meaning no getting into the water — for the rest of the day due to the threat of Hurricane Dorian.

“This means that there is no swimming allowed in the ocean! Thank you for helping us keep your family and our crews safe!” the tweet says.

The swim ban follows announcements by Horry County, Myrtle Beach and Conway saying they’ve moved their emergency operations into what’s known as OPCON 2, meaning the departments are in a “heightened state of awareness.”

This story was originally published September 1, 2019 at 1:11 PM.