Hurricane Erin has triggered a state of emergency in North Carolina, where residents and visitors along the Outer Banks are under evacuation orders.

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

Meteorologists are closely tracking the projected path of Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year.

“The center of Hurricane Erin made it as close in as 200 miles off the North Carolina coast on Thursday morning as forecast,” AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said. “The storm is expected to pass roughly 300 miles southeast of Nantucket as it moves out to sea.”