SUFF CITY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Hurricane Erin spared Surf City and other beaches south of the Outer Banks as the storm traveled up the North Carolina coast.

Red flags still flew all day long in Surf City and other beaches on Thursday as high surf and strong rip currents plagued coastal communities.

Surf City Emergency Management Director James Horne said the storm brought some anticipated impacts on Wednesday evening into early Thursday morning.

"We were looking for 1-to-3-foot storm inundation," he said. "Obviously, some large breaking waves, things like that. What we ended up seeing was very close to what they were predicting. We did have some minor erosion in the escarpment, or sloping, in certain areas of the beach."

Joe Whitmore, of Surf City, said he saw some of the biggest surf he

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