Ocracoke Island will reopens to visitors on Thursday, Oct. 8

Ocracoke Island will reopen to visitors, starting on Thursday, Oct. 8. after having been closed for a week because of last week’s threat from Hurricane Joaquin and then the coastal storm that lasted into yesterday.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division began running limited sound ferry service this afternoon and plans to  resume normal operations on its Ocracoke-Cedar Island and Ocracoke-Swan Quarter routes at 7 a.m. on Thursday.

Ferry officials also said that the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry would also resume operations in the morning — with the 7 a.m. departure from Hatteras and the 8:30 departure from Ocracoke.
 
About 340 feet of the dune line on Highway 12 between the Pony Pens and the Hatteras Ferry terminal was flattened late last week by the pounding surf, and the road has been closed for several days because of overwash and flooding. The ferry has not been running.

The Hatteras-Ocracoke route will also switch to its fall schedule tomorrow, as had been planned.

More information for the ferries and schedules can be found on the DOT Ferry Division website.  

Ocracoke village streets have been flooded for days from a combinations of rainwater and soundside flooding. The flooding is subsiding, but Hyde County officials warn that drivers should continue to exercise caution on roads with standing water.

Also, the Hyde County Health Department “strongly advises” residents and visitors to avoid direct contact with flood waters due to potential exposure to bacteria and other potentially harmful substances.

“This is especially encouraged for young children, elderly, and immune compromised individuals,” the Health Department said. “This includes secondary exposure to young children from boots, waders, clothing, etc. stored in garages, mudrooms, houses.”
 
Health officials also strongly encouraged residents to use caution when inspecting, repairing and generally recovering from flooding affects in and around their homes and businesses — wildlife, bees, insects, rodents, and snakes, are potentially present in unexpected places where they may have been escaping flood waters.  

Finally, the Health Department says that anyone who has had skin or otherwise direct exposure to flood waters and becomes ill should go directly to a medical provider or contact the Hyde County Public Health Department.