In a 10 On Your Side interview with Drew Pearson, director of emergency management for Dare County, he shares what he expects the impacts of Hurricane Erin to be on the Outer Banks while talking about the danger of storm surge.

Coastal flooding and ocean overwash are expected to peak Wednesday and Thursday in Dare County due to Hurricane Erin, with some Rodanthe residents choosing to defy evacuation orders.

DARE COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - This morning’s high tide brought some sand and standing water onto the Outer Banks’ major highway, but not enough to shut down roads yet. According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, many areas along Highway 12 are still passable, despite overwash bringing sand onto the roadways.

Hatteras Island was evacuated on the morning September 10, with the rest of Dare County ordered to evacuate the next day. The storm suddenly shifted southwest over the night of September 11 and ended up making landfall further south, but the evacuation order remained.

As Hurricane Erin threatens the Atlantic coast, Dare County officials are leveraging the Special Medical Needs Registry to ensure vulnerable residents receive the necessary support during evacuations.

Gov. Josh Stein said the state has deployed three swift water rescue teams to the coast and mobilized 200 National Guard members.

Dare County officials have issued a mandatory evacuation of Zone A of Hatteras Island due to the potential for life-threatening impacts from Hurricane Erin, with coastal flooding and ocean overwash expected to begin on August 19th and continue through August 21st.

Dare County's manager estimates there are approximately 5,000 permanent residents along the Cape Hatteras localities.

Much of the North Carolina coast, including the Outer Banks, is under tropical storm and storm surge warnings as Hurricane Erin churns as a Category 2 storm.

Even though Erin is expected to stay hundreds of miles offshore, its impacts are forecast to worsen as it crawls northward and makes its closest approach to the U.S. mainland. Erin was generating waves of 35 feet or more at an ocean buoy east-northeast of the Bahamas on Aug. 19, creating swells and stirring up a broad swath of the ocean.

Every detail matters during a disaster. As Hurricane Erin moves closer to the NC coast, in Dare County, they've spent months getting ready to help people with medical needs.