Mandatory evacuations are underway for parts of the Outer Banks, including Dare and Hyde counties and various islands, as Hurricane Erin draws closer.

Hurricane Erin is forecast to move hundreds of miles offshore from the islands but the massive storm is still sending waves 20 feet (6 meters) or greater crashing over vulnerable sand dunes.

While Hurricane Erin is not expected to make landfall on the U.S. and is forecast to dissipate in the open Atlantic by early Saturday, Aug. 23, dangerous and life-threatening rip and surf currents ar...