Mandatory evacuation orders for Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island have been issued due to possible impacts from Hurricane Erin and will start to go into effect Monday.

Much of North Carolina’s Outer Banks region is under a tropical storm watch with Hurricane Erin expected to skirt the area Wednesday through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

On Monday at 5:10 p.m. the NWS Newport/Morehead City NC issued a tropical cyclone statement in effect until Tuesday at 1:15 a.m. The statement is for East Carteret, Northern Outer Banks, Ocracoke Island and Hatteras Island.

Emergency management officials on Sunday declared a state of emergency and ordered the evacuation of Hatteras Island on North Carolina's Outer Banks beginning Monday due to threats from Hurricane Erin.

See the historic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in the U.S. Plan your visit for the fall, when the temperatures are still mild and the summer tourists have left. “There are things we just don't have here,