Hurricane Erin is battering the US east coast, prompting warnings of life-threatening surf and rip currents. The storm, which has rebuilt its inner eye wall, is expected to generate waves up to 20 feet (6 metres) and a storm surge of up to 4 feet (1.2 metres), with North Carolina facing the most severe conditions.
Authorities have urged residents to stay out of the ocean from Florida to New York, as the storm moves slowly northwards. Beach closures have been implemented in New Jersey and Delaware, while New York City has prohibited swimming at its beaches on Wednesday and Thursday. Suffolk and Nassau counties are under a coastal flood watch.
In North Carolina's Outer Banks, mandatory evacuations have been ordered in parts of Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Ocean waves have already swept under homes on stilts and flooded sections of Highway 12, the main road. The northern areas of Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills are not in the evacuation zone.
The National Hurricane Center warned that swells from Erin will affect the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Atlantic Canada over the coming days. The storm's rapid intensification ranks it among the fastest-strengthening hurricanes ever observed in the Atlantic, highlighting concerns about the role of climate change in fuelling more powerful storms.
