Hurricane Erin is marching north, lashing North Carolina's Outer Banks with rough waves and coastal flooding, and bringing a threat of dangerous waves and potentially deadly rip currents to the East Coast. Hurricane Erin is about 260 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and is quickly moving away from the East Coast.

Hurricane Erin moves offshore but still threatens East Coast with dangerous surf, rip currents, and tropical winds. Follow Newsweek's live blog.

Beachfront property owners braced for the worst amid predictions of a storm surge of up to 4 feet and significant coastal erosion. Powerful waves of 15 to 20 feet are expected to slam beaches, especially in North Carolina, for 48 hours or more as the hurricane crawls northward offshore through at least Thursday.