Hurricane Erin, now a Category 2 storm, has triggered a state of emergency in North Carolina, where residents and visitors along the Outer Banks are under evacuation orders. The Outer Banks is also under a tropical storm warning; Erin is forecast to hit the islands with heavy rain and rough winds on Wednesday night.

Hurricane Erin continues to churn in the Atlantic waters hundreds of miles off the U.S., prompting officials to close beaches along the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast.