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 has triggered a state of emergency in North Carolina, where residents and visitors along the Outer Banks are under evacuation orders.

Unfortunately, Hurricane Erin's storm surge was too much for NC12 tonight. We will be CLOSING NC12 from Oregon Inlet to Hatteras Village at 6:30 p.m. Conditions are too unsafe for people to be driving in. If you come across any flood waters, turn around, don't drown. #ncwx pic.twitter.com/Osh15AFMT5

Hurricane Erin is tracking closer to the East Coast, and meteorologists still maintain that parts of Massachusetts will feel the effects of the storm. The National Weather Service branch in Norton, MA is predicting that the storm will pass "well southeast ...

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day. The massive size of Hurricane Erin and days of powerful winds over the open ocean have caused water levels along the East Coast to rise.

Beachfront property owners braced for the worst amid predictions of a storm surge of up to 4 feet and significant coastal erosion. Powerful waves of 15 to 20 feet are expected to slam beaches, especially in North Carolina, for 48 hours or more as the hurricane crawls northward offshore through at least Thursday.

Users were impressed by the perspective captured in the viral post, with one describing it as "beautiful and terrifying."

Hurricane Erin is still churning north and on track to pass by the Jersey Shore and Delaware beaches hundreds of miles off the coast. While the heart of the storm will likely stay well offshore (fortunately),