Erin breaches dunes, dumps sand and water on OBX highway. No date for reopening.
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- Hurricane Erin flooded and sand-covered sections of N.C. 12 across the Outer Banks.
- NCDOT crews began clearing efforts Thursday, but high tides may worsen conditions.
- Ferry service between Hatteras and Ocracoke remains suspended after major overwash.
N.C. 12, the highway that runs down the spine of the Outer Banks, remained closed south of Oregon Inlet on Friday morning, after more coastal flooding overnight.
After nearly two days of punishing surf and wind along the Outer Banks caused by Hurricane Erin, Friday morning’s high tide opened up two new breaches in the dunes that protect N.C. 12, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation. One was 200 feet long just south of Oregon Inlet, while the other was 30 feet long just down the road near the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge visitor center.
There was also additional overwash at Buxton, north of Hatteras Village and on the north end of Ocracoke Island, NCDOT said.
The department said crews are working to clear sand and water from the highway and rebuild the dunes south of Oregon Inlet.
The department does not know yet when N.C. 12 might reopen. It says it still has found no signs of pavement damage.
“If that remains the case, it will make the reopening process quicker,” it posted on social media.
Ferry service between Hatteras and Ocracoke was suspended late Wednesday afternoon and has not resumed.
N.C. 12 remains open north of Oregon Inlet, with only minor blown sand reported on the road at Kitty Hawk on Thursday morning.
The center of Erin came as closed as 200 miles from the coast of North Carolina early Thursday and has been moving away, toward the northeast, ever since. As of 11 a.m. Friday, the center of the storm about 400 miles south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, according to the National Weather Service.
This story was originally published August 21, 2025 at 10:02 AM.
