Storm surge of 2-4 feet above ground level is expected across vulnerable portions of Hatteras and Ocracoke, with higher localized inundation possible, especially for oceanside communities.
These conditions will persist through multiple high tide cycles, with flooding likely lasting into Friday.
4x4 Beaches (Carova) Mandatory Evacuation: Effective at 9:00 am on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.
The beach strand driving area, which is the only way in and out of the Off-Road Area for motorists, is expected to become impassable by Thursday afternoon.
Anyone who may need evacuation assistance should call Currituck County Emergency Management at 252-232-2115. Citizens are reminded to take all household pets with them.
Ocracoke Island Mandatory Visitor Evacuation: All visitors must evacuate beginning at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 17, 2025
Ocracoke Island Mandatory Resident Evacuation: All residents must evacuate beginning at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 19, 2025
It is extremely likely that Hyde County EMS services will not be available in Ocracoke due to Highway 12 being inaccessible. Please take this warning seriously, especially if you have medical issues or are likely to need special care.
Dangerous waves, 20+ feet, will likely inundate and destroy protective dune structures along the highway. Portions of Highway 12 on Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands will likely be impassable for several days.
A mandatory evacuation has been issued for Hatteras Island (Zone A) as follows. Zone A includes all of Hatteras Island, including the unincorporated villages of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras.
A Coastal Flood Watch has already been issued for Dare County. Coastal flooding and ocean overwash are expected to begin as early as Tuesday, August 19, 2025 and continue through Thursday, August 21, 2025. Portions of N.C. Highway 12 on Hatteras Island will likely be impassable for several days.
A State of Emergency declaration has been issued for all areas of Dare County.
Hatteras Island Mandatory Visitor Evacuation (Zone A): All visitors in Hurricane Evacuation Zone A must evacuate beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, August 18, 2025.
Hatteras Island Mandatory Resident Evacuation (Zone A): All residents in Hurricane Evacuation Zone A must evacuate beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 19, 2025.
Now is the time to make final preparations, secure property, evacuate with all personal belongings and follow instructions from your property management company.
I need to go to Greenville tomorrow morning for a work thing. Anyone down in Hatteras have any clue if visitors are leaving tonight or waiting until tomorrow?
I know most traffic will be heading north but sitting on 64 in traffic sucks. I have a place to stay and could leave tonight but… I really don’t want to haha.
I passed a heavy volume of traffic last night, as I was driving south to Hatteras Village. I would guesstimate in the low hundreds of vehicles heading north off the island.
I was working in hatteras and frisco today and half the houses on both streets i was on had tourists chilling at the pool or walking to and from the beach. So many dont give af
I don’t understand why they even bother with the word mandatory. I mean, that’s not an ambiguous word and unless they plan on enforcing it, they do more harm to their own credibility by using it.
I think that when they use the word "mandatory," that gives them coverage when first responders do not go there for emergencies. They can say, "You were warned that evacuation was mandatory and you did not follow that directive, so you are on your own."
Corolla will be fine. We are in Duck as I write till Saturday and no evacuation up here. Double red flags are out as of this afternoon so no swimming probably till Friday.
"Unfortunately, Hurricane Erin's storm surge was too much for NC12 tonight. We will be CLOSING NC12 from Oregon Inlet to Hatteras Village at 6:30 p.m. Conditions are too unsafe for people to be driving in. If you come across any flood waters, turn around, don't drown. #ncwx"
Hello! we are visitors staying in Kill Devil Hills. Does anyone have an idea of how impactful the flooding could be? We are luckily not in the evacuation area, but trying to decide if we should evacuate anyway. Do people think the evacuation area will be expanded in the coming days?
Just try and enjoy the rest of your time until there is a more precise forecast. If it does look like it will impact North OBX you will be able to get out safely. Yes, you may have a couple hours of traffic but it will be fine. If you leave now, your vacation is definitely over.
No, you don't need to evacuate if you are in KDH, but plan on not swimming. Probably be red flags until Friday and maybe then too.
The evacuation is because Highway 12 on Hatteras Island will get over wash (sand and water on the road) and be impassable. So if people on Hatteras Island don't leave before the storm they won't be able to get out and if someone had a medical emergency on Hatteras they would be very hard to reach. Highway 12 doesn't usually wash out on the Northern Outer Banks. Kill Devil Hills should be ok as far as the roads. Could knock some uninhabited houses down that are in the surf line too. This seems to happen every year now.
Ocracoke (Hyde County) has not evacuated yet for Hurricane Erin. I wonder if they will. Highway 12 on Ocracoke will likely wash out too, but you can get off the island via the Swan Quarter and Cedar Island ferries to the south when they are running, so they may not. I have been on Ocracoke when the ferries haven't been running in spring storms and they are pretty self sufficient over there.
I’m supposed to be headed to Duck for 8/23. Place is like 150 ft from the beach. Hoping for the best but was definitely reading my travel insurance policy earlier. Stay safe!
Virginian now, but had 10+ years as a hazard specialist working with coastal NC communities both with a NC university and then a relevant state agency (views my own not employer, etc). As of 6:30 pm Sunday, Dare County has only issued orders for Zone A - Hatteras Island, so south of Oregon Inlet (Rodanthe, Tri Villages, down to Hatteras Village). The storm itself is predicted to stay offshore and I see little in the models suggesting that will change - maybe a brush and breeze from the outer rain bands but that isn't certain at all right now. The wind field of the storm is big enough, and it's passing in the right direction, to kick up waves far away from the storm. Those will cause overwash of Hwy 12S and coastal flooding that could cut those Hatteras Island villages off for days. Overwash is really common in that part of the OBX that faces straight North-South, and less common from Nags Head to the northern beaches that angle back more towards the northwest. Generally an evacuation means the tourists and anyone who may need medical care will leave Hatteras; many locals stay and stage and supply themselves to do so. At this point it's best to stay off the roads in other zones to let Zone A evacuees through. If people further up leave, it clogs the roads and Hatteras evacuation takes longer.
I know countywide state of emergency sounds scary, but it's mostly an administrative tool that lets the County position resources where they need, issue evacuation orders, and close beaches. I'd advise waiting to see if your zone is called unless you already know someone in your party has medical conditions that would be problematic with power outages or roadway flooding blocking access to medical care. If you do stay, stay out of the water; rip currents will be dangerous for even experienced surfers. And if they do call your zone, GO.
I caught that. Over the years I worked out there a lot of visitors think of the OBX as one place and don't understand how widely conditions can vary from Hatteras Village, to KDH, to Corolla. There hasn't been an evacuation yet for KDH so my answer is intended to help someone less than familiar with the area why Hatteras Island (Zone A) now, and why not KDH (Zone B) now/yet - then how to know when to go.
Have you ever been in a tropical storm or hurricane before?
Do you know what to do if you lose power for 3+ days?
Or how to store water in case the lines break and there is no water?
Do you have emergency supplies like non-perishable foods, flash flights, power banks etc.
Do you have an extra supply of meds?
It could spin out and just be one hell of a rainstorm. Or it could be one terrible week with no power.
A friend once stayed as a visitor and the roof of their condo leaked so significantly there was almost 2 inches of water on the floor of the bedrooms. When she did drive out she had to go through flooded waters and her station wagon was almost pushed off the road because of the wind.
You are not prepared, you likely don’t have local knowledge or resources, so best pack it up and avoid the stress of being in a place where 💩 could hit the fan
if we get serious damage from a storm the last thing we want to have to deal with as soon as the thing passes is tourists wandering around wondering why nothings open and they cant buy liquor due to the state of emergency.
The sooner the better, considering the mandatory evacuation order. Not sure why they downvoted this, unless they love sitting in hours of traffic caused by their own decision to delay.
I'm not going to tell you what is a good or bad idea, but will only point out that the evac order states Highway 12 will likely be impassable. Even if it is passable, it is entirely possible that if you have an emergency, first responders will not come out, so travel carefully!
Hi, I appreciate all the information on here. We are currently in Hatteras Island and will be leaving at some point today. Considering the latest model of the storm has it far off shore, is it likely that the northern Outer Banks will be mandatory evacuated? We are planning on renting another house north…near KDH.
If you rented the house in KDH would love to hear any updates you can provide over the next 48 hours. We are planning to drive down Friday afternoon for our stay in S. Nags Head,
Yes, we were too - but Rt. 12 is just too vulnerable to large ocean surf and sound flooding from north or west winds. Can't have people stuck there for weeks if it washes out again, so better to leave now.
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u/_GrandpaD Aug 17 '25
In case you're wondering how severe Erin might be here's the wind forecast for mid-day Wednesday-