Troops of the TCI Regiment prepare to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations following Hurricane Erin at an unidentified location, in Turks and Caicos Islands in this handout picture released on August 16, 2025. / TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS REGIMENT via Facebook

Residents in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos braced on Aug.18 for Hurricane Erin, a dangerous Category 4 storm and the first of the Atlantic season, after it strengthened over the weekend while sweeping past Caribbean islands.

While Erin is not on track to make direct landfall and has yet to cause major damage, its growing size and strength are threatening rough seas and have prompted some evacuation orders in parts of North Carolina, on the U.S. East Coast.

"Erin's already large size and intensity are acting like a giant plunger on the sea surface," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said in a report.

Sosnowski said Erin was among the fastest-strengthening storms on record after it intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane, the highest level of the Saffir-Simpson scale, in just over 27 hours.

It makes 2025 the fourth straight Atlantic season with at least one Category 5 storm.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Erin, now a Category 4 storm, was likely to maintain its force as a dangerous major hurricane through the middle of the week, but avoid contact with Bermuda or the U.S. coast.

As of Aug.19 at 0000 GMT, the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (210 kph) as it passed east of the Bahamas.

The Air Force Reserve and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hurricane hunters were currently investigating the system, the NHC said.

The storm's strength fluctuated over the weekend, rising on Aug.16 to Category 5 before dropping back to Category 4 late on Sunday.

It is the fifth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic season and the first to reach hurricane status. The last Atlantic storm to reach Category 5 intensity was Hurricane Milton in October last year.

In Turks and Caicos, an overseas British territory, authorities suspended public services on its largest island and told residents in vulnerable areas to pack in case of evacuation.

The Bahamas' meteorology department said the islands' southeast, as well as Turks and Caicos, were experiencing tropical storm conditions, and warned that boats should not go out to sea until the end of the week.

"The seas could become extremely rough and dangerous during the swells," it said.

Kate Williamson, a Bahamian southeastern district administrator, told local media that the small population living on the eight-square-mile (21-sq-km) island of Long Cay should move to the mainland.

NORTH CAROLINA

Even though Erin's eye was forecast to stay well offshore, tropical storm conditions and coastal flooding were possible in North Carolina's Outer Banks, beginning late Wednesday, the NHC said. Erin could also produce life-threatening surf and rip currents along much of the U.S. East Coast.

A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued from Beaufort Inlet to Duck, North Carolina, including Pamlico Sound, while a storm surge watch is in effect for Cape Lookout to Duck, North Carolina, the forecaster said.

A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from the coastline during the next 48 hours.

Evacuation orders have been issued for parts of two North Carolina coastal counties, with forecasters predicting waves up to 20 feet (6.1 meters) and dangerous rip currents on Aug.10 and 21. Two counties - Dare and Hyde - ordered tourists and residents to leave flood-prone barrier islands of Hatteras and Ocracoke.

While the narrow islands have just a few hundred year-round residents, about 2.7 million tourists flock to the Outer Banks each year, mostly during the summer, according to the U.S. National Park Service.

County officials warned anyone who might consider staying put during the storm that they should not count on getting any help from authorities, due to inaccessible roads.

At the Atlantic Inn on Hatteras Island, owner Holly Andrzejewski said that she, her husband and a few employees were going to ride out the storm and keep a watch on their 10-bedroom inn.

"Visitors are supposed to leave today," she told Reuters by telephone on Monday and residents are supposed to leave tomorrow. But we're staying. We want to safeguard our property."

On nearby Roanoke Island, also in Dare County, no evacuation orders had been given as of late Aug.18, but that could change, said innkeeper Lee Brickhouse of the Roanoke Inn.

"Some guests are rescheduling, and we're just holding our breath that the worst won't happen," Brickhouse said.