Hurricane Irene Tuesday was still far away at sea, but it was still producing huge expansion, with waves as high as 20 feet (6 meters) or more and hitting sand dunes on North Carolina’s barrier island.
According to Miami’s National Hurricane Center (NHC), the storm tracked northward, roughly parallel to the East Coast. Although it is not expected to hit the mainland, Erin is expected to scale up and generate dangerous RIP currents in the next few days.
Officials from outside North Carolina bankers warned of coastal flooding prompted evacuation orders.
Erin Before weakening. It then regained its power, phased out electricity from more than 147,000 utility customers in Puerto Rico, and eventually fell into Class 2 status Tuesday morning.
The wind lasts 110 mph when the storm travels northwest at 7 mph. Its center is about 665 miles southwest of Bermuda and 720 miles south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Rapid growth of storms ranks it as the fastest hurricane ever on the Atlantic Ocean Scientists’ warning The climate crisis driven by human-induced greenhouse gas emissions is strengthening the storm.
The sustained winds of Category 2 hurricanes range from 96 to 110 mph. Erin just got shy than the third category, the threshold for what forecasters called a “major” storm, which was able to suffer severe damage with winds ranging from 111 mph.
Even without direct warnings, the Hatteras and Okracoke Islands were evacuated. Officials are concerned that North Carolina State Highway 12 (NC 12) is a narrow route connecting communities and will suffer severe damage or sweep, isolating residents for days or even weeks.
Among the outshore banks, about 3,500 locals are used to the occasional critical value of the mainland – but the thousands of tourists currently visiting do not.
Reide Corbett, executive director of the Coastal Institute, told The Wave Associated Press.
“There’s water everywhere. It really resonates with the outshore banks,” Corbett said.
The northern area around Nags Head kills the most intensively developed Devil Mountain in the area, outside the evacuation area. But to the south, Oregon is Hatteras Island, which relies solely on NC 12 for entry. In addition, Ocracoke Island can only be reached by plane or ferry.
The expressway was first built sixty years ago. Since then, the remote fishing community has transformed into a thriving tourist destination, now dotted with thousands of oversized vacation homes.
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When storms hit, ocean harmony water often violates the dunes, burying the roads under sand and debris. Serious incidents can tear the sidewalk or dig out brand new entrances, forcing temporary bridges.
Throughout the 2010s, the North Carolina Department of Transportation spent more than $1 million a year just to keep NC 12 open and approximately $50 million spent on storm-related repairs over a decade.
Although the expense is a fee, Dur County generates about $20 billion from tourism every year to ensure the cycle of reconstruction continues. But the repair is not very fast. hurricane Isabel created new entrances in 2003 and 2011, requiring two months of ferry service until the bridge was installed.
Driven by warm temperatures and melting ice related to climate change, sea levels increase, exacerbating the danger. As most of the foreign banks are only a few feet above sea level, even slight erosion can have a significant impact, such as in Rodanthe, the community most prominently enters the Atlantic Ocean.
Since 2020, more than a dozen homes in Rodanththe have fallen into the sea. Authorities believe that if Erin’s surfing was as strong as expected, at least two vacant houses would be lost.
The Associated Press contributed the report
Health & Wellness Contributor
A wellness enthusiast and certified nutrition advisor, Meera covers everything from healthy living tips to medical breakthroughs. Her articles aim to inform and inspire readers to live better every day.
