Record storm surge hits Ocracoke and Hatteras; Flash Flood Emergency in Effect until Noon

Video of Hatteras village at roughly 9:30 a.m. from IFP Publisher Donna Barnett.

Hurricane Dorian made landfall over Cape Hatteras at 8:35 a.m. as a Category 1 storm, and record storm surge has been reported as the storm continues to move northwest of Hatteras and Ocraoke islands.

The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood EMERGENCY for the soundside flooding in Hyde and Dare counties, which is in effect until noon. Residents are advised to move immediately to higher ground.

Water levels jumped 6 feet in Ocracoke and approximately 5.9 feet in Hatteras village in roughly an hour and a half on Friday morning. As of 10:30 a.m., record-breaking storm surge was reported across Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, with soundside flooding starting to increase for Avon and the tri-villages.

In the last 30 minutes, storm surge levels have dropped slightly (approximately 2-3 inches) in Hatteras village. The public can access gauges online to view water levels in real-time at fiman.nc.gov or can download the ReadyNC App and check the Flood Gauge tab. 4-7 feet of storm surge continues to be forecast for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.

Gov. Roy Cooper released a statement that flooding on Ocracoke Island is catastrophic and there are possibly hundreds trapped on the island.

Hatteras and Ocracoke islands continue to be without power, and Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative stated that they have discovered a broken transmission pole between Avon and Salvo which has caused the island-wide outage. They have a 27 man crew from Lee Electrical Construction on their way to the island now to assist with restoration efforts. As soon as conditions improve, crews will begin working.

The public can access gauges online to view water levels in real-time at fiman.nc.gov or can download the ReadyNC App and check the Flood Gauge tab. 4-7 feet of storm surge continues to be forecast for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.