Hurricane Erin's path will not bring its strongest winds ashore. However, it continues to grow in size, and its impacts from high surf, rip currents and coastal flooding are already increasing along parts of the East Coast.

Mandatory evacuation orders are in place along the Outer Banks of North Carolina amid fears a few islands may get cut off from the main highway.

Hurricane Erin, now a Category 2 storm, has triggered a state of emergency in North Carolina, where residents and visitors along the Outer Banks are under evacuation orders. The Outer Banks is also under a tropical storm warning; Erin is forecast to hit the islands with heavy rain and rough winds on Wednesday night.

Dozens of people have been rescued from rip currents as Hurricane Erin churns up the Eastern seaboard. Authorities said about 60 people have been rescued from rip currents at Wrightsville Beach, N.C., according to the Wilmington Star-News and NBC affiliate WRAL-TV .

As Hurricane Erin churns in the Atlantic, local swiftwater rescue teams from Knightdale, Wake Forest and Charlotte are mobilizing to North Carolina's coast.

Red flags are flying on North Carolina beaches— warning swimmers not to get in the water. Hurricane Erin is a little over a few hundred miles away from Myrtle Beach, Wrightsville Beach and Hatteras Island,