WASHINGTON, Aug 19, (AP): Holly Andrzejewski hadn't yet welcomed her and her family's first guests to the Atlantic Inn on Hatteras Island when she had to start rescheduling them, as Hurricane Erin neared North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Tuesday and threatened to whip up wild waves and tropical force winds. Although the monster storm is expected to stay offshore, evacuations were ordered on such barrier islands along the Carolina coast as Hatteras as authorities warned the storm could churn up dangerous rip currents and swamp roads with waves of 15 feet (4.6 meters).

Andrzejewski and her husband purchased the bed-and-breakfast, known as the oldest inn on the island, less than a week ago. By Monday they had brought in all the outdoor furniture and made sure their daughter and her boyfriend, who are the innkeepers, had generators, extra water and flashlights as they stayed behind to keep an eye on the property.

"It's just one of those things where you know this is always a possibility and it could happen, and you just make the best out of it. Otherwise you wouldn’t live at the beach,” said Andrzejewski, who will also remain on the island, at her home about a 15 minutes' drive away. Erin lashed part of the Caribbean with rain and wind Monday.

Forecasters are confident it will curl north and away from the eastern US, but tropical storm and surge watches were issued for much of the Outer Banks. Officials at the Wrightsville Beach, near Wilmington, North Carolina, reported to the National Weather Service rescuing at least 60 swimmers from rip currents Monday. By early Tuesday, Erin had lost some strength from previous days and had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

It was about 685 miles (1,105 kilometers) southwest of Bermuda and 770 miles (1,240 kilometers) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras and was moving northwest at a slower 7 mph (11 kph). A tropical storm warning remained in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands, where government services were suspended, some ports were closed and residents were ordered to stay home.

On North Carolina’s Outer Banks, coastal flooding was expected to begin Tuesday and continue through Thursday. The evacuations on Hatteras Island and Ocracoke came at the height of tourist season on the thin stretch of low-lying barrier islands that jut into the Atlantic Ocean and are increasingly vulnerable to storm surges. A year ago, Hurricane Ernesto stayed hundreds of miles offshore yet still produced high surf and swells that caused coastal damage.