Hurricane Erin Update: People living on the Hatteras and Ocracoke islands of North Carolina have been asked to evacuate their homes by officials as Hurricane Erin has re-intensified into a Category 2 storm.
While Hurricane Erin is predicted to stay hundreds of kilometres offshore, the waves it is sending on the islands are at least 20 feet high that are crashing on the vulnerable sand dunes on the islands.
The winds of Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the six-month Atlantic season, have strengthened to 225 kilometres per hour, with forecast of more intense blows.
Officials have ordered evacuation of the Hatteras and Ocracoke islands even though there is no hurricane warning because of a thin strap of highway called NC12, connecting the narrow barrier islands to the rest of the world.
The intensity of the waves due to Hurricane Erin are likely to tear up and wash out parts of the highway, potentially isolating residents for days or even weeks.
The 3,500 or so Outer Bankers who live there have handled isolation before. But most of the tens of thousands of vacationers have not, reports the Associated Press.
To understand the threat of the storm on the Outer Banks islands, it is essential to understand the geography of the area. The Outer Banks are essentially sand dunes that remained tall enough to not wash out when the earth’s glaciers were melting 20,000 years ago.
The NC12 highway was constructed on these sand dunes 60 years ago, even as repairs have regularly been carried out.
When the storms come, water from the ocean or the sound punch through the sand dunes and wash tons of sand and debris on the road. In more extreme cases, storms can break up the pavement or even create new inlets that require temporary bridges.
Hurricane Erin
Erin was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane on Tuesday but remained powerful enough to generate strong winds. According to the National Hurricane Centre, Cyclone Erin was moving at a speed of 9 miles per hour, picking up a little speed.
The Dare County asked Hatteras Island residents to evacuate the area by Tuesday evening.
“Dare County remains under a State of Emergency and a Mandatory Evacuation order is in effect for Hatteras Island,” the county said on social media. “Please note that N.C. Hwy. 12 may be impassable by August 19 at 5 p.m.”
If Hurricane Erin holds to its forecast track, it will avoid a direct strike on any of the islands in the area or the US East Coast.
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