Dare County, N.C. —

What is happening: North Carolina Governor Josh Stein has declared a state of emergency for Dare and Hyde counties after two powerful coastal storms battered the Outer Banks and knocked out stretches of N.C. Highway 12. The declaration, issued Thursday, October 22, followed a nor'easter that washed out sections of the highway — just weeks after crews wrapped up roughly $2.5 million in repairs from a late-September storm that caused the same damage.

Local impacts: N.C. 12 is completely closed between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe, with no timeline for reopening. Continuous ocean overwash destroyed about 1,800 feet of protective dunes and undermined some 800 feet of pavement near the Pea Island Visitor Center. Hatteras Island is under a local state of emergency — visitors are banned from the island, and Dare County's mandatory evacuation order for Hatteras Island visitors remains in effect. To keep the island connected, the state has activated emergency ferry service between Stumpy Point and Rodanthe. Forecasters warn that extensive erosion and approaching king tides could prolong coastal flooding.

What to do:

- Visitors: do not try to enter Hatteras Island — the visitor ban is being enforced, by ferry or any other route.

- Residents and travelers: watch for more overwash and coastal flooding along N.C. 12; never drive through flooded roads.

- Check NCDOT travel advisories and emergency ferry schedules before heading to the Outer Banks.

Governor Stein has also asked the Federal Highway Administration for emergency relief funding to repair N.C. 12, which is a federal-aid highway — the state emergency declaration keeps that federal request alive.

Source: WWAY-TV3 / North Carolina Governor's Office, Oct. 22, 2026. Reported by TNW News.