Hurricane Erin is about to unleash the sea on the East Coast
Date: 7 min ago
Title: Who's under an evacuation order?
Content:
Officials in North Carolina's Outer Banks region have been urging residents to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Erin.
Dare and Hyde counties, which encompass most of the Outer Banks, issued local states of emergency with mandatory evacuations for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands earlier this week.
Hurricane Erin, a 100 mph Category 2 hurricane, is churning closer to the barrier islands and could intensify slightly today as it makes its way up the US East Coast. Since Erin isn't expected to make landfall, officials worry some may not heed the warnings.
'I know many who live on the island feel they can ride out a storm, but Hurricane Erin is different,' Dare County Emergency Management Director Drew Pearson said in a Tuesday news release. 'Extended flooding and the threat to Highway 12 will severely limit our ability to respond — and even a slight shift in Erin's track toward our coast could bring much more dangerous conditions. Please, do not take the risk. Evacuate now, while it is still safe to do so.'
Erin's winds could push up to 4 feet of storm surge onto the Outer Banks late Wednesday into Thursday.
Update:
Date: 15 min ago
Title: Erin is a large, powerful hurricane. Here's where it is
Content:
As of 8 a.m. ET, Erin is a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 100 mph. It's tracking to the north-northwest while located about 400 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Erin will largely parallel the US East Coast without making landfall as it moves farther north. It's still bringing considerable risks to the coast, especially North Carolina, because of its large size.
The hurricane's greatest threats will impact North Carolina, especially the Outer Banks barrier islands, late today into tomorrow.
Up to 4 feet of storm surge is possible in the Outer Banks as Erin's expansive winds push water on land. Erin is also churning up dangerous seas: Waves of 20 feet or higher could crash into parts of the Outer Banks tonight, with 30-foot waves just offshore. Wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph are likely right along the coast.
Conditions along other East Coast beaches will continue to deteriorate today with a high risk of rip currents in place for much of the coastline.
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