RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Erin battered North Carolina’s Outer Banks with strong winds and waves that flooded part of the main highway and surged under beachfront homes as the monster storm slowly began to move away from the East Coast on Thursday.
Forecasters predicted the storm would peak Thursday and said it could regain strength and once again become a major hurricane, Category 3 or greater, but it was not forecast to make landfall along the East Coast before turning farther out to sea.
Tropical storm conditions were in effect over parts of the Outer Banks and the coast of Virginia, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. In Bermuda, residents and tourists were told to stay out of the water with rough seas expected through Friday.
As Erin’s outer bands brushed the Outer Banks, water poured onto the main route connecting the barrier islands and a handful of stilted homes precariously perched above the beach. By Wednesday evening, officials had closed Highway 12 on Hatteras Island as the surge increased and waves rose. The road remained closed Thursday. Ocracoke Island’s connection to its ferry terminal was cut off.
Authorities predicted that the largest swells during high tide would cut off villages and homes on the Outer Banks and whip up life-threatening rip currents from Florida to New England.
Beaches were closed to swimming Wednesday and Thursday in New York City, and some others in New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware were temporarily off-limits. Widespread, moderate coastal flooding was forecast for low-lying areas of Long Island and parts of New York City.
Off Massachusetts, Nantucket Island could see waves of more than 10 feet (3 meters) this week. But the biggest threat remained along the Outer Banks where longtime residents didn’t seem too concerned.
“I remember taking canoes out of my front yard to get to school, so I don’t think it’s gonna be that bad,” said Jacob Throne, who lives on Hatteras Island and…