HURRICANE DORIAN

Ocracoke Island Residents Stranded as Hurricane Dorian Hits North Carolina

Crews have been dispatched to the island to help residents stranded in floodwaters.

After lashing the Bahamas, a weakened Hurricane Dorian hit North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Friday, surprising many longtime residents with ferocious floodwaters. Officials ordered air evacuations for the hundreds of residents who may be trapped on Ocracoke Island, according to local reports. Ocracoke Island is part of a 200-mile ribbon of flat islands accessible only by boat or air. The Coast Guard has begun landing aircraft on the island to drop off local law enforcement officers and evacuate a resident in need of medical care, according to the AP. Steve Harris, a resident for nearly two decades told the AP, “The wall of water just came rushing through the island from the sound side. And it just started looking like a bathtub, very quickly.” Harris added, “We went from almost no water to 4 to 6 feet in a matter of minutes.”