Washington, DC ,August 22(HS): Hurricane Erin, the first major storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, is driving dangerous conditions along the US East Coast as it churns northward, unleashing life-threatening surf, rip currents, and flooding risks from the Carolinas to New England.
The Category 2 system, with sustained winds near 105mph (165km/h), has already soaked the North Carolina Outer Banks and prompted evacuations in the communities of Hatteras and Ocracoke. States of emergency have been declared in both North Carolina and New Jersey, with officials warning of coastal erosion, flash flooding, and road closures through Friday.
Although Erin is not forecast to make direct landfall, its impacts are widespread: beaches have been closed, swimmers barred due to brutal rip currents, and residents urged to stay off storm-battered waters. In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy cautioned that “coastal and flash flooding, high surf, and erosion” will continue to batter the shore.
Further south, Puerto Rico and the Turks and Caicos were also hit earlier in the week, with power outages affecting 150,000 households in Puerto Rico. The storm has fluctuated in strength, at one point reaching Category 5, underscoring predictions of an unusually active hurricane season fueled by warming seas and climate change.
For many along the Eastern Seaboard, the fear is as much about aftermath as imminent impact. “This is our livelihood,” said 96-year-old Carol Dillon, a motel owner on Hatteras Island, worried that relentless waves could wash away buildings already sitting in the water.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
