Coastal flooding along Outer Banks closes roads
Published 10:05 pm Sunday, September 20, 2020
RODANTHE (AP) — Portions of the primary road linking North Carolina’s Outer Banks barrier islands to the mainland were closed on Sunday due to coastal flooding from high tides and Hurricane Teddy.
Traffic on North Carolina Highway 12 was halted on long stretches on Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, the Department of Transportation reported.
On Hatteras Island, the road was closed from Rodanthe north to the Basnight Bridge due to standing water. N.C. 12 also was closed on Ocracoke just south of the Ocracoke Ferry dock to just north of the Pony Pen beach area, according to DOT.
Both were expected to reopen later Sunday, according to DOT. Hurricane Teddy was several hundred miles off in the Atlantic, but the system was creating rough surf and dangerous rip currents.
The National Weather Service posted coastal flood warnings until Monday afternoon for Hatteras Island and the northern Outer Banks in North Carolina and also for Virginia Beach, Virginia. High surf advisories also were in effect. Dare County emergency officials urged motorists not to travel Sunday into Monday.
Areas along the Dare County coastline could see water that’s from 2 to 4 feet above ground level and up to 2 feet above in Currituck County and in Virginia Beach. This elevates the threat of coastline property damage, the weather service said.