Hempstead Town Shark Patrol and lifeguard staff are on heightened alert this weekend as thousands of residents are expected to visit town beaches.

This comes after several shark sightings and attacks happened along South Shore beaches in the past few days.

Two lifeguards suffered shark bites at beaches in Suffolk this week, and a swimmer was possibly bitten at Jones Beach last week.

Lifeguards will be out on the stands watching for distressed swimmers and keeping a lookout for sharks.

Beachgoers will also see drones buzzing overhead as lifeguards use the devices to scan the ocean for schools of fish, which sharks typically follow.

“When the fish come close to the beach and the sharks are feeding on the fish, that's when we want to be a little more leery about potentially pulling the swimmers out of the water for safety,” says Cary Epstein, the Jones Beach lifeguard supervisor.

About 12 lifeguards and members of the state park police are currently being trained to operate drones to keep watch for sharks in the coming weeks.

Officials urge residents to only swim when lifeguards are on duty and to follow their instructions.