A state of emergency for all of Hyde County and a mandatory visitor evacuation of Ocracoke Island is still in effect. The tropical storm warning for Hyde County and storm surge warning for Ocracoke are still active. Ocracoke experienced widespread flooding due to the storm surge, however no structural damage has been reported in the village.
Winds will continue to diminish throughout the afternoon. Sustained winds of 30 mph with gusts over 40 mph have been reported this morning. Storm surge flooding will continue to be an issue throughout the day and night, especially during high tides. We expect conditions to improve as Hurricane Maria continues to move offshore tonight.
County officials will continue to coordinate with our partners at the NCDOT to determine when the evacuation order for visitors can be lifted. Officials will be evaluating the road conditions and the NCDOT Ferry Division will conduct a test run tomorrow morning, if conditions allow. The Ocracoke Deputy Control Group will meet as soon as that information is available to us. We are cautiously optimistic that ferry operations and road conditions will permit reentry as soon as tomorrow afternoon. Visitors with plans to come to the island should monitor our web page and social media outlets for further updates.
