The sandy, vulnerable barrier islands on North Carolina's coast may see houses swept away and a vital roadway flooded — yet again.

Hurricane Erin continues to churn in the Atlantic waters hundreds of miles off the U.S., prompting officials to close beaches along the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast.

Hurricane Erin is forcing evacuations on North Carolina’s Outer Banks as it churns in the Atlantic where high winds and heavy rain are pelting the Turks and Caicos Islands and parts of the Bahamas.

While hundreds of residents and tourists evacuated North Carolina’s Outerbanks on Tuesday, others got caught in some of the earliest flooding from Hurricane Erin. The combination of the storm and high tide sent waves surging into homes, hotels and Highway 12 - the only way in and out of those islands.

Most of the tourists have left Ocracoke Island, and the surfers are watching closely as deadly rip currents lurk below the waves.