Storm surge flooding and tropical storm conditions are causing significant problems for NC's Outer Banks-especially for beachfront properties.

New York and North Carolina have begun reopening beaches that had been closed due to Hurricane Erin. The storm sent strong winds and dangerous waves across the U.S.

Hurricane Erin, now a Category 2 hurricane, won't make landfall on the U.S. East Coast, but it will impact residents and visitors at North Carolina's Outer Banks.

North Carolina expects coastal flooding from massive waves, tropical-storm-force winds and tidal and storm surges for much of the state shoreline, especially the Outer Banks, as well as life-threatening rip currents for most of the week, Stein said, adding, "No one should be in the ocean."

After Hurricane Erin brushed the North Carolina coast earlier this week, state recreational water officials issued a precautionary swimming advisory along part of the Outer Banks.

Beachfront property owners braced for the worst amid predictions of a storm surge of up to 4 feet and significant coastal erosion. Powerful waves of 15 to 20 feet are expected to slam beaches, especially in North Carolina, for 48 hours or more as the hurricane crawls northward offshore through at least Thursday.

Thousands of people were evacuated off parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks amid the threat of a storm surge. Meanwhile, beaches remained off limits along the East Coast as dangerous waves and rip currents slammed shorelines.

As of 4 p.m. CDT Wednesday, the center of Category 2 Hurricane Erin was located about 295 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., or 520 miles west of Bermuda, and was tracking to the north at 14 mph.

V ideo shows a tidal storm surge enveloping homes along North Carolina's coast as Hurricane Erin moved through the Atlantic Ocean, gaining momentum. Aerial footage shot using a drone in the state's Outer Banks on Tuesday, Aug. 19, shows waves slamming into raised, colorful beach houses along the shore, the storm's deluge creeping its way inland.

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm again Monday morning and is expected to grow even larger and stronger, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Although Erin is forecast to move north between the U.S. and Bermuda, life-threatening surf and rip currents are likely across the Atlantic coast from Florida to Canada.