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The Latest: Ocean washes under Outer Banks waterfront homes

WAVES, N.C. (AP) - The Latest on Tropical Storm Maria (all times local):

9:30 a.m.

Standing near the closed fishing pier in the unincorporated community of Avon, Tony Meekins said anything is possible when it comes to Maria's effect on North Carolina's Outer Banks.

The 55-year-old lifelong Avon resident said the dune line along much of this part of Hatteras Island is gone, pounded down by previous storms.

The Atlantic has been washing under waterfront homes and onto side streets since Tuesday at high tide in parts of Avon.

"Mother Nature keeps chopping at it," said Meekins, an engineer on the temporarily halted Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry. "We see storm after storm."

He hopes dune restoration projects that are underway in Buxton to the south will eventually make their way to Avon.

Whatever happens he said, "we'll rebuild and carry on. It's just the way it goes. We're kind of used to it."

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8:45 a.m.

Winds and storm surge from Tropical Storm Maria are lashing North Carolina's Outer Banks as the storm moves by well off-shore.

Dare County Emergency Management Director Drew Pearson said in an email that the high tide early Wednesday flooded some roads in the area and travel is hazardous. Pearson said the worst problems were on Hatteras Island. More than 10,000 visitors left Hatteras Island under an evacuation order earlier this week.

Pearson said no injuries have been reported.

The ocean has washed over parts of N.C. 12, the main road running along the Outer Banks.

At 8 a.m., Maria was about 155 miles (250 kilometers)east of Cape Hatteras, moving north at just 5 mph (8 kph.) Highest winds were 70 mph (112 kph). Wind gusts of 55 mph (88 mph) have been reported at Oregon Inlet, south of Nags Head.

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6:30 a.m.

Tropical Storm Maria is bringing winds of 55 mph (88 kph) to North Carolina's Outer Banks, along with storm surge washing over the main highway along the barrier islands.

The National Weather Service reported Wednesday those wind gusts were highest in Oregon Inlet south of Nags Head.

"The ocean is angry," Helena Stevens with the Ocracoke Civic and Business Association told the Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk.

The water was washing across sections of N.C. 12, the main road running the length of the barrier islands.

The North Carolina Ferry Division said all ferries in the Pamlico Sound were suspended Wednesday because of the storm conditions. Officials estimate more than 10,000 visitors evacuated Ocracoke and Hatteras islands.

Schools were closed in Dare County on the Outer Banks for a second day.

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5:40 a.m.

Some of the most fragile islands in the continental United States are preparing for the latest strike from this year's devastating hurricane season.

The North Carolina Outer Banks were only getting a glancing blow as weakening Tropical Storm Maria was forecast to move about 150 miles (240 kilometers) offshore Wednesday. But officials warned that severe beach erosion was likely there and along many other mid-Atlantic beaches.

Officials say Maria is predicted to erode more than half the dunes along North Carolina's 300-mile (485-kilometer) coast. Beaches in Maryland and Virginia could fare even worse.

This hurricane season has been even harder on Texas, Florida, several small Caribbean islands and Puerto Rico, where officials said electrical power may not be fully restored for more than a month.

Floodwaters surround homes as Hurricane Maria moves closer to North Carolina's Outer Banks on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017. Thousands of visitors abandoned their vacation plans and left the area as the hurricane moved northward in the Atlantic, churning up surf and possible flooding. (AP Photo/Ben Finley) The Associated Press
People wait in line for gas, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in Aibonito, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. The U.S. ramped up its response Monday to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico while the Trump administration sought to blunt criticism that its response to Hurricane Maria has fallen short of it efforts in Texas and Florida after the recent hurricanes there. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) The Associated Press
This combination of photos released by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Puerto Rico at night on July 24, 2017, top, before the passing of Hurricane Maria, and on Sept. 25, days after the hurricane wiped out most of the island's power. NOAA corrected the date of the bottom image to Sept. 25 on Twitter. Most of Puerto Rico has been without lights or air conditioning since the passing of Maria on Sept. 20 and is looking at many more. (NOAA via AP) The Associated Press
In this Sept. 25, 2017, photo, members of the community join the Eastern Mennonite University volleyball team as they pack buckets with relief kits bound for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico in Harrisonburg, Va. (Daniel Lin/Daily News-Record via AP) The Associated Press
FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, file photo, a couple sits in their home in El Negro, Puerto Rico, a day after the impact of Hurricane Maria. Maria has devastated Puerto Rico, destroying buildings and leaving its more than 3.4 million residents largely without power. Food and drinking water are also difficult to come by, and the recovery will be long, difficult and expensive. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File) The Associated Press
Christian Mendoza counts money in the aisle of a supermarket where he had hoped to buy water but only found cans of juice in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Monday Sept. 25, 2007. Bottled water was gone from stores throughout Puerto Rico in the few stores open five days after the earthquake. (AP Photo/Ben Fox) The Associated Press
People wait in line outside a grocery store to buy food that wouldn't spoil and that they could prepare without electricity, in San Juan, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. Most stores and restaurants remained closed Monday. Nearly all of Puerto Rico was without power or water five days after Hurricane Maria.(AP Photo/Ben Fox) The Associated Press
Jose Garcia Vicente walks through rubble of his destroyed home, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, in Aibonito, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. The U.S. ramped up its response Monday to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico while the Trump administration sought to blunt criticism that its response to Hurricane Maria has fallen short of it efforts in Texas and Florida after the recent hurricanes there. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) The Associated Press
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