Hurricane Erin battered North Carolina's Outer Banks with strong winds and waves that flooded part of the main highway and surged under beachfront homes before slowly moving away.

Hurricane Erin is moving northward through the Atlantic Ocean, and even though its strongest winds will not make landfall, the storm is already creating serious problems along the U.S. East Coast. The large size of the hurricane is pushing powerful waves toward shore,

Much of North Carolina’s Outer Banks region is under a tropical storm watch with Hurricane Erin expected to skirt the area Wednesday through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Local officials issued evacuation orders for parts of the Outer Banks, warning that the storm might wash out roads.

Emergency management officials on Sunday declared a state of emergency and ordered the evacuation of Hatteras Island on North Carolina's Outer Banks beginning Monday due to threats from Hurricane Erin.