Dare County ordered all visitors on Hatteras Island to leave at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, as the county declared a state of emergency and braced for a Northern Easter Storm that forecasters said could turn N.C. Highway 12 impassable.
The mandatory evacuation covers visitors in Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras. Residents were not ordered to leave, and no evacuation order was issued for areas north of Oregon Inlet. That split underscores how narrowly the county is drawing the line as the weather worsens: keep the island’s year-round population in place, but clear out guests before the road and the beaches take the hit.
The National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City office said coastal impacts should increase Saturday, Oct. 17, and continue into early next week. Forecasters warned of 2 to 4 feet of coastal flooding, wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph and breaking waves of 8 to 12 feet along Hatteras Island beaches, with the first high tide of concern expected around 1 p.m. Saturday. A Coastal Flood Watch and High Surf Advisory were already in effect.
County emergency managers said prolonged flooding and repeated ocean overwash could block N.C. Highway 12, the only direct route through much of Hatteras Island. The timing is what gives this order its weight: it comes less than three weeks after a late September nor’easter damaged the road near the Pea Island Visitor Center, forced NCDOT to activate an emergency ferry route between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point and led crews to build a temporary detour before two lanes reopened Oct. 3.
That recent repair work is also why the new evacuation is being watched so closely. The road has already shown how quickly storm damage can cut Hatteras Island off, and officials are once again warning that access could disappear if the surf and flooding arrive as forecast. Dare County Emergency Management said it will keep monitoring conditions and issue reentry information when it can. For visitors, the message is simple: leave before the weather turns the island into a dead end.
