Hurricane Erin has prompted mandatory evacuations in the Outer Banks. Avon, Kill Devil Hills, Hatteras Island, Ocracoke Island and Rodanthe are under mandatory evacuations along with Dare and Hyde counties. More than 1,000 people left the Outer Banks on Monday. The National Weather Service has issued a tropical storm warning for the Outer Banks from the Beaufort Inlet to Duck, including the Pamlico Sound. It means tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area…

Wrightsville Beach lifeguards rescued as many as 12 people by Tuesday afternoon as Hurricane Erin moves through the Atlantic Ocean closer to the North Carolina coast. Rip currents and large waves from Hurricane Erin prompted the town of Wrightsville Beach to issue a no-swimming advisory for Tuesday through Friday. On Monday, lifeguards at Wrightsville Beach reported between 60 to 70 rip current rescues. The National Hurricane Center said the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda will…

On Monday, visitors were asked to leave Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Residents will join the evacuations on Tuesday. Despite the risks, not everyone is leaving. “It’s all wait and see,” said Rick Shaftan. “You never know what’s going to happen.” Homes and homeowners like Shaftan are waiting to see what Hurricane Erin brings to a town that’s become famous as the Atlantic swallows it up, bit by bit. Last year alone, six homes were demolished…

Hurricane Erin is growing larger, and its expected impact is starting to stretch far beyond its footprint. A tropical storm watch was in effect Monday for the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and officials there ordered the evacuation of some coastal areas amid concerns that bands from the storm’s outer edges could lead to heavy rain and strong winds by Wednesday. And nearly the entire east coast of the United States was at risk for…

Hurricane Erin forced tourists to cut their vacations short on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, even though the monster storm is expected to stay offshore after lashing part of the Caribbean with rain and wind on Monday. Evacuations were ordered on a couple of barrier islands along the Carolina shore as authorities warned the storm could churn up dangerous rip currents and swamp roads with waves of 15 feet (4.6 meters). Tropical storm and surge watches…

With the constant heavy rain and downpours over the past few weeks, flash flooding has become a recurring problem for people in the area. On Thursday, WRAL News was on the scene of Avent Ferry Road in Raleigh, where multiple drivers were seen attempting to push through flood waters during nighttime showers and storms. Preston Ross is the founder of a Raleigh nonprofit and told WRAL News that trash and debris on top of heavy…

The Paperhand Puppet Project debuted its show, The Gift, just over a month after its studio in Saxapahaw flooded during Tropical Storm Chantal. Executive Director Donovan Zimmerman said the theatre is facing more than $100,000 in losses, including some of the puppets used in performances. The studio is the space the crew used to create their puppets and store their equipment, much of which was destroyed in the floods. “Waters rose and came into our…

Two oceanfront homes on the Outer Banks are “very, very vulnerable” to collapse as Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, churns north in the Atlantic and sends strong waves toward the North Carolina coast. Mark Gray, with WM Dunn Construction, said “two houses for sure are on the verge of collapse” along G.A. Kohler Court in Rodanthe — the same stretch of shoreline where multiple homes have crumbled into the ocean in…