Dramatic aerial footage shows storm surge flooding homes and a motel in North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Aug. 19 as Hurricane Erin battered the coast. Officials ordered evacuations in Dare County, warning of life-threatening winds and rising waters.

As the edges of Hurricane Erin get closer to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, much attention has been placed on Highway 12, a roughly 150-mile-long byway that connects that state’s islands and peninsulas. It is beloved by locals and tourists because of its scenic views of the ocean, sand dunes and old lighthouses.

High surf advisories are in effect from Florida to Massachusetts, with Wednesday marking the peak for dangerous and destructive waves. Waves could reach 10 to 20 feet in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, 11 feet in the Southeast, and 15 feet in the Northeast.

Storm surge warnings and tropical storm warnings have been issued in part of North Carolina, and conditions are starting to deteriorate as Erin lurks off the East Coast of the United States.

The wild horses of the Outer Banks of North Carolina are majestic, athletic and in total harmony with nature. As Hurricane Erin may stop by and sit for a spell,

As Hurricane Erin grows in size, impacts from the storm’s intensity will be felt “well outside” the storm’s center, including in Hampton Roads. The storm’s impacts

Although the storm is expected to stay offshore, it will produce dangerous surf conditions for much of the Atlantic Coast this week, forecasters say.