RODANTHE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Erin battered North Carolina’s Outer Banks with strong winds and waves that flooded part of the main highway, damaged a waterside motel and swirled under beachfront homes as the monster-sized storm slowly began to move away from the East Coast on Thursday.

Forecasters predict the storm will gradually weaken over the next few days while turning farther out to sea.

Tropical storm conditions were in effect over parts of the Outer Banks and the coast of Virginia, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. In Bermuda, residents and tourists were told to stay out of the water with rough seas expected through Friday.

There was flooding along part of the North Carolina and mid-Atlantic coasts, the center said Thursday morning. Authorities warned that the larges

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