Residents across North Carolina’s Outer Banks and coast braced for flooding from storm surge and powerful winds Wednesday as Hurricane Erin churned hundreds of miles away in the Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricane Erin has triggered a state of emergency in North Carolina, where residents and visitors along the Outer Banks are under evacuation orders.

(Reuters) -Hurricane Erin, churning north in the Atlantic hundreds of miles offshore, is expected to trigger a dangerous storm surge and tropical storm conditions on Wednesday along North Carolina’s Outer Banks and other stretches of the U.

RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — From Florida to New England, people trying to enjoy the last hurrahs of summer along the coast were met with rip current warnings, closed beaches and in some cases already treacherous waves as Hurricane Erin inched closer Wednesday.

Dramatic aerial footage shows storm surge flooding homes and a motel in North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Aug. 19 as Hurricane Erin battered the coast. Officials ordered evacuations in Dare County, warning of life-threatening winds and rising waters.