Hurricane Erin live updates: Conditions across North Carolina’s Outer Banks to continue to deteriorate

Hurricane Erin, now a Category 2 storm, is battering North Carolina’s Outer Banks with heavy rain, flooding, and waves up to 20 feet. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for parts of the coast, while beaches from Florida to New England are closed due to life-threatening rip currents and dangerous surf. Though not expected to make landfall, Erin’s wide wind field is spreading destructive conditions across the East Coast, prompting states of emergency and urgent warnings to avoid floodwaters and stay out of the ocean. Conditions may ease by late Friday as the storm moves out to sea.