Dramatic aerial footage shows storm surge flooding homes and a motel in North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Aug. 19 as Hurricane Erin battered the coast. Officials ordered evacuations in Dare County, warning of life-threatening winds and rising waters.

As the edges of Hurricane Erin get closer to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, much attention has been placed on Highway 12, a roughly 150-mile-long byway that connects that state’s islands and peninsulas. It is beloved by locals and tourists because of its scenic views of the ocean, sand dunes and old lighthouses.

As Hurricane Erin grows in size, impacts from the storm’s intensity will be felt “well outside” the storm’s center, including in Hampton Roads. The storm’s impacts

Storm surge warnings and tropical storm warnings have been issued in part of North Carolina, and conditions are starting to deteriorate as Erin lurks off the East Coast of the United States.