Hurricane Erin neared North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Tuesday, forcing evacuations on barrier islands such as Hatteras while threatening wild waves and tropical force winds.
Although forecasts suggested the storm would stay offshore, authorities warned of dangerous rip currents and roads flooded by 15 foot waves.
Ashore, Holly Andrzejewski and her husband had just bought the Atlantic Inn on Hatteras Island less than a week earlier. By Monday they had secured outdoor furniture and made sure their daughter and her partner, the innkeepers, had generators, extra water, and flashlights as they prepared to monitor the property.
It’s a risk many beach residents accept, said Andrzejewski, who planned to remain in the area with her home about 15 minutes away.
Erin battered parts of the Caribbean with rain and wind on Monday. Forecasters expect it to curve north and away from the eastern United States, but tropical storm and surge watches remained in place for much of the Outer Banks.
Rescuers reported dozens of swimmers pulled from rip currents near Wrightsville Beach as Erin’s strength varied. By early Tuesday, the storm had weakened slightly but still carried maximum sustained winds near 195 kilometers per hour and remained hundreds of miles from Bermuda as it moved northwest at a slower pace.
A tropical storm warning stayed in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands, where government services were suspended, some ports closed, and residents told to stay at home.
On the Outer Banks, coastal flooding was expected to begin Tuesday and continue through Thursday.
The evacuations on Hatteras Island and nearby Ocracoke come during peak tourist season, highlighting how vulnerable these low-lying barrier islands are to storm surges.
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