A nor’easter began battering Delaware beaches Thursday with huge waves, dangerous rip currents, strong winds, flooding and erosion, while conditions across the state line forced the cancellation of the first day of the Oceans Calling music festival in Ocean City, Maryland. Bethany Beach was amo ng the hardest-hit communities along the Delaware coast, with significant beach erosion. Kathleen Bergin, Delaware’s coastline erosion expert with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said Bethany Beach and South Bethany are particularly vulnerable. “Bethany and South Bethany stick out farther on the coastline so they tend to take the brunt of all of these,” Bergin said. Bergin said DNREC would work with the Army Corps to determine how to address the damage. Another coastal storm, however, was already a concern. “We are forming a plan for recovery but we do have another coastal storm right behind this one that we are paying attention to,” Bergin said. The storm also brought some unexpected visitors to Dewey Beach: three Coast Guard buoys from Cape May that washed ashore. “The navigational buoy got lost,” Deb Pires, who came to see the buoys, said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by tim furlong (@timfurlong2) Elsewhere along the Delaware coast, strong winds pushed people along the beach as large waves churned offshore and water flooded low-lying streets. Officials urged people to stay away from the beach and out of the ocean and bays because of the dangerous conditions. “We are asking people please please please do not go in the water, do not come out on the beach. The waves are very strong. Even if you think you’re safe up to your knees, you’re not,” Bergin said. The rough weather also disrupted a major music festival just across the Delaware border in Ocean City, Maryland. The first day of the three-day Oceans Calling festival was canceled, meaning scheduled performances from acts including Dave Matthews, Hootie and Ludacris will not take place. The cancellation came as Ocean City also dealt with street flooding and erosion. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less