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

North Carolina's governor urged state residents along the coast to prepare and listen to emergency guidelines in anticipation of the storm.

Officials have ordered evacuations of Hatteras and Ocracoke islands even without a hurricane warning because that tiny ribbon of highway called N.C. 12 will likely be torn up and washed out in several places,

Two more tropical systems trail Hurricane Erin, which is following a projected course that brushes past the East Coast without making landfall.

By Tuesday morning, Erin had lost some strength from previous days and dropped to a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Charlotte Fire has activated its Urban Search and Rescue team to support response efforts as Hurricane Erin approaches the North Carolina coast, deploying the team to Edenton with boats, high water vehicles,