The effects of Hurricane Erin sent seawater spilling over dunes and onto parts of North Carolina’s Outer Banks Wednesday, swamping a highway on Hatteras Island where residents had been ordered to leave.
“I want to emphasize the importance of taking this storm seriously, because it’s a serious storm and conditions can deteriorate quickly,” North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said at a news conference Wednesday.
At 11 p.m. the outer bands of the hurricane, a strong Category 2 storm with 110 mph winds, were bringing tropical storm conditions to or very near the North Carolina coast, the National Hurricane Center said.
Officials in North Carolina warned of waves of 15 to 20 feet, and the hurricane made swimming hazardous all along the East Coast, even though the center of the large storm will remain offshore.
A tropical storm warning was in place from Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, to Chincoteague, Virginia. Highway 12 on Hatteras Island was "completely submerged," the weather service said.
For Bermuda, the storm was traveling farther away than expected, lessening the impacts, the government said. But wind gusts could approach 60 mph Thursday into Friday, it said.
Stein declared a state of emergency to free up state resources, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said that emergency officials were prepared. Hurricane Erin will make its closest pass offshore Virginia early Thursday morning, he said.
Erin is a large hurricane and was projecting hurricane-force winds up to 105 miles from its center, and tropical storm-force winds up to 265 miles, the hurricane center said.
The storm is forecast to take a turn north-northeast Wednesday and move over the western Atlantic Ocean between the East Coast of the United States and Bermuda through Friday, before it passes south of Atlantic Canada into the weekend, the hurricane center said.
Erin will make its closest pass to the United States on Thursday, when the onshore winds will be strongest, leading to coastal flood concerns and dangerous rip currents. The heavy rain will remain offshore, so the strong winds will be the most noticeable impact.
North Carolina expects coastal flooding from massive waves, tropical-storm-force winds and tidal and storm surges for much of the state shoreline, especially the Outer Banks, as well as life-threatening rip currents for most of the week, Stein said, adding, "No one should be in the ocean."
Erin could strengthen Wednesday and Thursday, but it is expected to begin weakening by Friday, the hurricane center said.
"Regardless of the track of the center of the storm, dangerous conditions can be felt far from the eye, especially with the system as large as Erin, regardless of her track," North Carolina Emergency Management Director Will Ray said Wednesday.
A storm surge warning is in effect from Cape Lookout to Duck, North Carolina, where 2 to 4 feet of storm surge flooding is possible along the coast, according to the hurricane center.
In addition, 1 to 2 inches of rain could hit the Outer Banks on Wednesday and Thursday.
Video from North Carolina shows major waves rolling onto land, flooding roads and beachfront homes.
There were 4 to 5 inches of standing water north of Hatteras Village at 9 a.m. Wednesday, the Dare County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook. Crews were working to build dunes in the area.
The hurricane's effects were being felt all along the East Coast, creating dangerous swells and rip currents, officials said. New York City and Long Island area beaches were closed to swimming, and New Jersey residents were told to stay out of the water.
"We've seen a high number of rescues along the coast, and you should avoid swimming anywhere on the North Carolina coast right now," Ray, the state's emergency management director, said.
Evacuation orders have been implemented for Dare and Hyde counties in North Carolina, with shelters and recovery centers open across the state, Ray said. North Carolina has requested a major disaster declaration for public assistance from the federal government, which would provide additional recovery resources to those affected, he added.
Stein said Thursday, "If you have not evacuated, make sure you batten down the hatches."
The National Weather Service in Jacksonville, Florida, also warned of dangerous surf conditions and rip tides Wednesday.
In New York City, the hurricane was forecast to cause coastal flooding of 1 to 2 feet in vulnerable areas of Brooklyn and Manhattan, and Queens could see 2 1/2 feet, the emergency management department there said. The Bronx could also see 1 to 2 feet of coastal inundation, and basements could flood.
Stein on Wednesday warned against getting news about Hurricane Erin from social media as artificial intelligence misinformation floods channels.
"It is just too easy for salacious, really dramatic stories to take root and then and spread like wildfire, even in a hurricane, because that's what people click on," Stein said. "If you see something on social media that sparks your interest, just go to a traditional website or news source and find out whether it's true."
