'We ride it out': Rodanthe residents explain decision to defy Hurricane Erin evacuation orders

Coastal flooding and ocean overwash worsened late Wednesday and early Thursday in Dare County due to Hurricane Erin. The storm is currently pulling away from the U.S., and Outer Banks conditions should start to improve.

Some people in the town of Rodanthe decided to ignore the evacuation order for Hatteras Island.

Photos taken Wednesday morning in Buxton show waves breaching sandbags just after high tide. The sandbags were in place to protect the homes close enough to the water.

Drone footage from Outer Banks resident Jenni Koontz shows how powerful the waves were during Wednesday morning’s high tide. Authorities said it’s only going to get worse with each high tide.

Graham Leggat, a Rodanthe resident of 30 years as of Wednesday, explained his decision to stay.

“You don’t want to get stuck on the other side and not get back to your stuff, and you’re forced to stay with friends or hotels and forced three meals a day out for you, your family, whoever you have,” Leggat said. “We ride it out for that.”

Dare County manager Bobby Outten told WRAL News he is concerned about the lack of resources for people who decided not to evacuate.

"This is a water event, not a rain event," Outten said. "The roads are going to be closed. There's going to be no ability for our EMS to get folks out. There's going to be no ability for our firetrucks to get out. Those people need to be prepared for that. They're not going to be able to get out and get their medicine or their food or their water ... if they haven't prepared for that, then we're not going to be able to help them until the water clears sometime hopefully on Friday."

Photographer Donny Bowers captured several images showing the scale of the inundation along the coast.

"It was washing, basically, from the ocean side to probably, you know, a good 300 yards in," Bowers said.

High tides, erosion, dangerous surf: Photos of Hurricane Erin impacts on NC coast

Graham said he and his family also stay to protect their belongings and to ensure they can get to higher ground.

Graham’s family got through Wednesday morning’s high tide relatively unscathed. However, the evening high tides are expected to be higher than the morning high tides for the next few days.

Hotel manager on Hatteras Island says many are staying to keep an eye on property

For one property manager, she and her husband said seeing the damage Hurricane Erin has already done is difficult to see.

“It's heart-wrenching,” said Melinda Meadows, Cape Hatteras Motel property manager.

Meadows told WRAL News that she and her husband wanted to keep an eye on the property. She said some walks have been knocked out, a few heat pumps have washed out, and the sand barriers are largely gone.

“I mean, I knew it would be bad staying around because I knew the tides would be high,” she said. “But we haven't even started really getting the wind.”

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Hurricane Erin's storm surge closed North Carolina Highway 12 from the Oregon Inlet to Hatteras Village, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Earlier Wednesday, N.C. Highway 12 closed on the north end of Ocracoke Island between the Northern Ferry Terminal and the National Park Service Pony Pens.

People reported ocean overwash on Wednesday in several spots along N.C. Highway 12 in the Outer Banks, according to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Facebook page.

N.C. Highway 12 is the only way by car on or off Hatteras Island.

On Wednesday, Kill Devil Hills resident Dave Cowles drove as far down N.C. Highway 12 as he could to check on flooding. He got stopped in Hatteras.

"It was about 1 foot deep," Cowles said.

Authorities temporarily closed the beachfront in the Villages of Rodanthe and Buxton due to threatened oceanfront structures that may be damaged.

The eye of Hurricane Erin is expected to remain in the Atlantic Ocean. However, the Outer Banks will still feel effects from the hurricane on Thursday with 2- to 4-foot storm surge, 40- to 60-mph winds and 15- to 20-foot waves.

Hatteras Island Rescue Squad Chief Jack Scarborough said authorities have made preparations to protect people who have opted to stay on the island.

"We've upfitted the vehicle for the potential rescues that might need ot be made," Scarborough said.

Scarborough said he's had 32 years of experience dealing with storms on Hatteras Island.

"With this wave intensity and these wave heights, all we can do is just prepare for the worst and hope for the best," Scarborough said.

Two homes in Rodanthe are vulnerable to collapsing as Erin moves across the Atlantic. The homes are already surrounded by water, and many fear that powerful swells from Erin may be the final straw.