Hurricane Erin has battered North Carolina’s Outer Banks with strong winds and waves that flooded part of the main highway and surged under beachfront homes.

Hurricane Erin is about 260 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and is quickly moving away from the East Coast. Erin is very large in size, with hurricane-force winds extending out to 105 miles from its center and tropical storm-force winds extending out to 320 miles from its center.

On its Wednesday voyage to Block Island, a popular Rhode Island ferry battled unsettled seas caused by Hurricane Erin.

Hurricane Erin has begun to move away from the North Carolina coast, the National Hurricane Center said in an Aug. 21 advisory.

Meteorologists are closely tracking the projected path and forecast of Hurricane Erin, which is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year.

The storm is bringing dangerous conditions to parts of the coast on Wednesday, but will then turn away from the United States.

The Aransas County courthouse was supposed to open in 2023. But officials have faced voter backlash and a constant stream of design and construction problems that have delayed the opening.

The forecast does not call for Hurricane Erin to get too close to Massachusetts, but the storm is causing some beaches to close for swimming as it could create big waves and dangerous rip currents on the coast.

Hurricanes can change course fast, so here's a tip list for how to prepare and what to watch out for if you're hitting the road.

Officials are urging visitors to begin evacuating at 10 a.m. Monday from Hurricane Evacuation Zone A, which includes the unincorporated villages of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras. Residents are to begin evacuating at 8 a.m. Tuesday.