Ocracoke Island permanent residents allowed to return on Monday

Starting Monday, September 9, permanent Ocracoke residents will be allowed to come back to the island.

Residents must have a green re-entry pass or a Hatteras priority boarding pass sticker on their vehicle to board the ferry to Ocracoke Island.

“The county usually does not allow any re-entry prior to critical infrastructure being operational,” stated a Hyde County press release. “However, due to the unique situation caused by the flooding, we want to allow residents to get back to their homes as soon as possible to start mitigating the damages. We will readdress other re-entry categories as critical infrastructure starts to come back online.”

Emergency personnel with red re-entry passes and deliveries deemed critical to recovery and preauthorized by incident command staff will have boarding priority over residents.

Please be aware that residents are not guaranteed a spot on the ferry. It will be a first-come, first-served boarding, after the priority vehicles are loaded. If space is not available, and residents are willing to walk on, that option will be available to as well.

Ocracoke Island residents should be aware that limited resources are available on the island, and that their home may not be habitable.

Ocracoke Island still does have power, and is under a boil water advisory. There are also no shelters on the island for displaced residents to use. Residents should make sure they bring anything they may need for day-to-day life when they return.

The NCDOT Ferry Division will also be adding an additional route to Ocracoke via the Hatteras ferry terminal that will come directly to Silver Lake. There are some restrictions on that route due to the type of ferry being used and the ramps available. The ferry division is advising that vehicles with low clearance will not be able to board this route.

The ferry schedule for Monday, Sept. 9 will be as follows:

• Hatteras to Ocracoke-Silver Lake: 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.
• Ocracoke-Silver Lake to Hatteras: 10:30 a.m., 12:30 a.m., 4:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m.
• Only high-clearance vehicles will be allowed on the Hatteras-Silver Lake route

In addition, the Ferry Division’s Pamlico Sound routes will be on the following schedule:

• Swan Quarter to Ocracoke: 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m.
• Ocracoke to Swan Quarter: 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m.
• Cedar Island to Ocracoke: 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.
• Ocracoke to Cedar Island: 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.

All fuel deliveries to Ocracoke should use the 9 a.m. Swan Quarter to Ocracoke departure.