About 100,000 evacuate from Dare, Currituck Outer Banks

OUTER BANKS, N.C.

Close to 100,000 people evacuated the Dare and Currituck Outer Banks on Thursday with only minor incidents, according to estimates from officials.

In Dare County, about 40,000 people departed the barrier islands to escape the effects of Hurricane Earl, expected to pass off the coast of Hatteras at 2 a.m. Friday.

An estimated 120,000 visitors were on the Dare County Outer Banks earlier this week, said Dare County spokeswoman Dorothy Toolan. Some had evacuated before Thursday, she said.

The Highway Patrol did not need to respond to any accidents, said Sgt. Jeff Wilson. The Kill Devil Hills Police responded to one accident near the Wright Memorial on Thursday afternoon, he said. By 5 p.m. traffic had fallen off to about normal, Wilson said.

In Currituck County, “well over half” the approximately 50,000 visitors in Corolla and in the four-wheel drive area evacuated with only minor incidents, said Randall Edwards, spokesman for Currituck County.

A malfunctioning traffic light and a minor accident in Southern Shores caused a backup of about an hour, Edwards said.

“We got a lot of phone calls from citizens sitting in traffic,” he said.

Rentals on the Currituck Outer Banks were nearly full leading up to the Labor Day weekend, he said.

Traffic on U.S. 158 and N.C. 168 through the Currituck mainland to Virginia flowed steadily without major delays, he said. By 5 p.m. traffic was about normal.