RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Erin pummeled North Carolina’s Outer Banks with fierce winds and high waves, leading to the flooding of sections of the main highway and causing waves to crash beneath beachfront homes. The colossal storm began its gradual move away from the East Coast on Thursday.

Weather experts anticipated that the storm would reach its peak on Thursday and warned that it might strengthen again, potentially becoming a Category 3 or stronger hurricane. However, it was not expected to hit the East Coast directly, as it is predicted to veer further out to sea.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported that tropical storm conditions were affecting portions of the Outer Banks and Virginia coastline. In Bermuda, warnings were issued for residents and tourists to steer clear of the water, as rough seas are expected to persist through Friday.

There was flooding along part of the North Carolina and mid-Atlantic coasts, the center said Thursday morning. Authorities predicted that the largest swells during high tide would cut off villages and homes on the Outer Banks and whip up life-threatening rip currents from Florida to New England.

Big waves push water over roads

As Erin’s outer bands brushed the Outer Banks, water poured onto the main route connecting the barrier islands and a handful of stilted homes precariously perched above the beach. By Wednesday evening, officials had closed Highway 12 on Hatteras Island as the surge increased and waves rose. The road remained closed Thursday. Ocracoke Island’s connection to its ferry terminal was cut off.

Melinda Meadows, property manager at the Cape Hatteras Motel in Buxton who decided to ride out the storm, said a door was ripped off a townhouse, some walls have been knocked out, and some heat pumps were washed out.

“It’s the force behind the water,” she told WRAL-TV.

Farther north, on Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, dozens of people were out taking photos of the huge waves crashing into the structure and even bird-watching amid the driving rain Thursday morning.

“This is nature at her best,” said David Alan Harvey of Nags Head. “I love this. I love these storms.”

Harvey was unconcerned about being on a pier jutting into the ocean, saying he considered it safer than most other places. “Driving my car is a lot more dangerous than this.”

A few feet away, 23-year-old Daniel Irons, who lives in Hatteras, was bird-watching and waiting to see what new ones might be brought in by winds from the storm. Another man, Sebastian Kettner, was fishing.

Beaches off-limits along the coast

Beaches were closed to swimming Wednesday and Thursday in New York City, and some others in New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware were temporarily off-limits. Widespread, moderate coastal flooding was forecast for low-lying areas of Long Island and parts of New York City.

Off Massachusetts, Nantucket Island could see waves of more than 10 feet (3 meters) this week. But the biggest threat remained along the Outer Banks where longtime residents didn’t seem too concerned.

“I remember taking canoes out of my front yard to get to school, so I don’t think it’s gonna be that bad,” said Jacob Throne, who lives on Hatteras Island and works for surf shops.

Despite beach closures elsewhere, some swimmers continued to ignore the warnings. Rescuers saved more than a dozen people caught in rip currents Tuesday at Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina, a day after more than 80 people were rescued.

Bob Oravec, a National Weather Service forecaster, said that even if someone thinks they know how to handle a rip current, it’s not safe.

“You can be aware all you want,” he said. “It can still be dangerous.”

Huge waves forecast to cause coastal flooding

A combination of fierce winds and huge waves estimated at about 20 feet (6.1 meters) could cause coastal flooding in many beachfront communities, North Carolina officials warned. Waves were estimated as high as 18 feet (5.5 meters) Thursday morning, according to local weather reports.

Dozens of beach homes already worn down from chronic erosion and protective dunes could be at risk, said David Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Most residents decided to stay despite evacuations ordered on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands.

“We probably wouldn’t stay if it was coming directly at us,” said Rob Temple, who operates sailboat cruises on Ocracoke.

His biggest concern was whether the main route would wash out and if tourists and delivery trucks may be cut off from the thin stretch of low-lying islands, which are increasingly vulnerable to storm surges.

The Hatteras Island Rescue Squad, a volunteer group based in Buxton, said it received no calls for rescues Wednesday night through Thursday morning.

Erin remains a large hurricane as it heads out to sea

Erin has become an unusually large and deceptively worrisome system, with tropical storm-force winds spreading across 500 miles (800 kilometers) — roughly the distances from New York City to Pittsburgh.

It remained a Category 2 hurricane Thursday morning with maximum sustained winds around 105 mph (165 kph), the hurricane center said. Erin was about 210 miles (338 kilometers) east of Cape Hatteras and moving north-northeast at 17 mph (28 kph).

The hurricane center was also watching two tropical disturbances far out in the Atlantic that could develop into named storms in the coming days. With thousands of miles of warm ocean water, hurricanes known as Cape Verde storms are some of the most dangerous that threaten North America.

Climate scientists say Atlantic hurricanes are now much more likely to rapidly intensify into powerful and catastrophic storms, fueled by warmer oceans.