SUFF CITY, N.C. (WTVD) — Hurricane Erin spared Surf City and other beaches south of the Outer Banks as the storm traveled up the North Carolina coast.
Red flags still flew all day long in Surf City and other beaches on Thursday as high surf and strong rip currents plagued coastal communities.
Surf City Emergency Management Director James Horne said the storm brought some anticipated impacts on Wednesday evening into early Thursday morning.
“We were looking for 1-to-3-foot storm inundation,” he said. “Obviously, some large breaking waves, things like that. What we ended up seeing was very close to what they were predicting. We did have some minor erosion in the escarpment, or sloping, in certain areas of the beach.”
Red flags still flew all day long in Surf City and other beaches.
Joe Whitmore, of Surf City, said he saw some of the biggest surf he’s seen on the East Coast as Hurricane Erin passed through.
“It’s not safe. If you’re not somewhat experienced and comfortable in somewhat larger surf, you should probably just stay out,” he said.
Surf City town officials urged people to stay out of the water because of high surf and increased rip current risks.
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Further up the beach in North Topsail, it was a rescue mission.
ABC11 tagged along with staffers and volunteers from the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.
They spent the day looking for sea turtle nests affected by the high surf.
Deputy and Conservation Director Terry Meyer says the impacts of the storm made it difficult to find the nests.
“Many of them just sat underwater; we’ve lost the markers on many of them,” she said. “We’re out today trying to determine what’s probably still good.”
Meyer says at least 90 nests were on beaches so far this season. Of the 90 total nests, she says at least 45 still had not hatched.
“Of those 45, for sure, outright we lost 10,” she said.
Some of those nests were covered with at least two to three feet of sand by the time staff and volunteers found them.
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