NC coast property owners hope for the best as Erin batters coast some don't evacuate: 'Staying put'
RODANTHE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Along the North Carolina coast, conditions worsened by the hour. Waves became more volatile and breached dunes that the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) created to preserve NC 12.
Ocean overwash is another major concern up and down the Outer Banks.
One homeowner, who was checking on houses along the beach, told ABC11 on Wednesday that he thought a house on Rodanthe was going to be eaten by the ocean last year.
"I thought it was going to go last year. When we had a big tide. It's in bad shape now."
Carroll Midgett is checking on oceanfront homes in Rodanthe on Hatteras Island, where evacuation orders were issued earlier this week.
ABC11's Jamiese Price asked Midget if he was planning to evacuate. "You're staying put. You're not leaving?"
"No," he responded.
Midgett, 84 years young, is doing his best to prepare for the impacts of Hurricane Erin.
"I put my car on the hill."
By Wednesday afternoon, most of the Outer Banks remains under a tropical storm warning and a storm surge warning.
NCDOT says the worst is yet to come from Hurricane Erin, even as the monster storm remains in the ocean.
"Erin has not shown us her teeth yet. That will be tonight, tomorrow, and possibly into Friday. So people should not let their guard down at this point because the worst is yet to come," Tim Hass with NCDOT said.
DOT crews are working around the clock to make sure flood-prone roads are clear and shoring up the dune lines along Highway 12, a major artery to Hatteras Island.
Portions of the highway are just feet away from the Atlantic Ocean.
"When the ocean comes up, it's very possible that during this storm, it will overtop even these dunes as high as they are. But they're there to protect the road as much as possible. We're trying to get NC 12 in as good a shape as possible before this storm so that it may be easier to clean up after the storm," Hass says.
Overwash has been reported along with some standing water in Buxton, Hatteras, and Rodanthe.
And folks like Midgett, who stayed put, are hoping things remain minor, with no major damage to the island.
"It would help the house."
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