Hurricane Erin’s furthest bands began brushing the outer banks of North Carolina’s coast Wednesday, where the Category 2 storm triggered mandatory evacuation orders, and officials warned summer beachgoers along the US East Coast of life-threatening surf and rip currents in coming days.

Landfall isn’t expected for Erin — welcome news for the southern US state still reeling from last year’s deadly Hurricane Helene — but North Carolina officials declared an emergency Tuesday as Erin’s predicted impacts began taking shape.

Portions of coastal North Carolina and Virginia were under tropical storm warnings, according to officials at the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

“Swells generated by Erin will affect the Bahamas, Bermuda, the east coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada during th

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