Two homes on North Carolina's Outer Banks sit precariously in high waves generated by Hurricane Erin with their days seemingly numbered.

The Outer Banks' remote beaches, dunes and oceanfront houses, are among the "most dynamic natural landscapes occupied by man," U.S. Geological Survey scientists wrote in 2016. As Erin tracked north,

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.

Hurricane Erin is forcing evacuations on North Carolina’s Outer Banks as it churns in the Atlantic where high winds and heavy rain are pelting the Turks and Caicos Islands and parts of the Bahamas.

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.

One family’s spontaneous vacation turned into a scramble for safety when Hurricane Erin forced a last-minute evacuation.

The storm has triggered a state of emergency in North Carolina and has caused residents and visitors along the Outer Banks to be under evacuation orders.

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