Hurricane Erin battered North Carolina's Outer Banks with strong winds and waves that flooded part of the main highway and surged under beachfront homes before slowly moving away.

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.

The massive storm is expected to bring coastal flooding and tropical storm conditions to parts of the mid-Atlantic despite not making landfall.

On Wednesday at 4:57 a.m. the NWS Newport/Morehead City NC issued an updated tropical storm warning in effect until 1 p.m. for Northern Outer Banks.

Two coastal homes in Rodanthe, North Carolina, appear on the verge of collapse as Hurricane Erin's wind and waves lash the East Coast.

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

People in the Outer Banks should shelter in place, authorities said. Meanwhile, life-threatening rip currents are likely at beaches along the East Coast, according to forecasters.

Residents across North Carolina’s Outer Banks and coast braced for flooding from a storm surge and powerful winds as Hurricane Erin churned hundreds of miles away in the Atlantic Ocean.Local officials issued evacuation orders for parts of the Outer Banks,

The storm flooded parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks, including a section of the main highway. It's now turning away from the East Coast, but dangerous surf and rip currents are likely from Florida to Maine.

An updated storm surge warning was issued by the NWS Newport/Morehead City NC on Thursday at 10:48 a.m. in effect until 7 p.m. for Northern Outer Banks.