Coastal flooding and ocean overwash are likely to peak on Wednesday and Thursday in Dare County due to Hurricane Erin.
Some people in the town of Rodanthe have chosen to ignore the evacuation order for Hatteras Island.
Photos taken Wednesday morning in Buxton show waves breaching sandbags just after high tide. The sandbags are in place to protect the homes close enough to the water. High tide is expected around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Drone footage from Outer Banks resident Jenni Koontz shows how powerful the waves were during Wednesday morning’s high tide. Authorities said it’s only going to get worse with each high tide.
Graham Leggat, a Rodanthe resident of 30 years as of Wednesday, explained his decision to stay.
“You don’t want to get stuck on the other side and not get back to your stuff, and you’re forced to stay with friends or hotels and forced three meals a day out for you, your family, whoever you have,” Leggat said. “We ride it out for that.”
Photographer Donny Bowers captured several images showing the scale of the inundation along the coast.
“It was washing, basically, from the ocean side to probably, you know, a good 300 yards in,” Bowers said.
Graham said he and his family also stay to protect their belongings and to ensure they can get to higher ground.
Graham’s family got through Wednesday morning’s high tide relatively unscathed. However, the evening high tides are expected to be higher than the mornings’ for the next few days.
At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Hurricane Erin’s storm surge closed North Carolina Highway 12 from the Oregon Inlet to Hatteras Village, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Earlier Wednesday, North Carolina Highway 12 closed on the north end of Ocracoke Island between the Northern Ferry Terminal and the National Park Service Pony Pens.
People reported ocean overwash on Wednesday in several spots along North Carolina Highway 12 in the Outer Banks, according to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Facebook page.
N.C. Highway 12 is the only way by car on or off Hatteras Island.
On Wednesday, Kill Devil Hills resident Dave Cowles drove as far down N.C. Highway 12 as he could to check on flooding. He got stopped in Hatteras.
“It was about 1 foot deep,” Cowles said.
Authorities temporarily closed the beachfront in the Villages of Rodanthe and Buxton due to threatened oceanfront structures that may be damaged.
The eye of Hurricane Erin is expected to remain in the Atlantic Ocean. However, the Outer Banks will feel effects from the hurricane on Wednesday and Thursday with 2- to 4-foot storm surge, 40- to 60-mph winds and 15- to 20-foot waves.
Hatteras Island Rescue Squad Chief Jack Scarborough said authorities have made preparations to protect people who have opted to stay on the island.
“We’ve upfitted the vehicle for the potential rescues that might need ot be made,” Scarborough said.
Scarborough said he’s had 32 years of experience dealing with storms on Hatteras Island.
“With this wave intensity and these wave heights, all we can do is just prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Scarborough said.
Two homes in Rodanthe are vulnerable to collapsing as Erin moves across the Atlantic. The homes are already surrounded by water, and many fear that powerful swells from Erin may be the final straw.
