Four Rescued From Rip Currents Off Ocracoke Island

Two different ocean rescues saved four people on Ocracoke Island Tuesday afternoon. In both cases people got in trouble themselves after trying to rescue children who were in pulled out by the strong currents.

The National Park Service says the first rescue happened around 2:00 p.m. in front of the Park Service life-guarded beach on the island. A boy in his teens got caught in the rip current and a man went to save him. The man also got in trouble and it took crews from Ocracoke EMS and Park Service lifeguards to get them safely back to shore.

Then there was another call about a man and a woman in trouble at South Point. The Park Service says the couple were trying to save a young child from the currents. They made it back to shore, but were found collapsed on the beach by rescue crews. The two were taken to a local clinic to be checked out while the child was found okay.

The Park Service says there have been no beach warnings today, but say the ocean is definitely churning and urge people to use caution when going into the water.

ocracoke island UPDATE: Forecast cone shifts east for Hurricane Earl

The latest updates show that the forecast cone for Hurricane Earl has finally shifted east. That leaves the Outer Banks in the forecast cone, but removes the rest of Northeastern North Carolina and Hampton Roads.

Earlier this evening, North Carolina officials announced that there will be an evacuation of Ocracoke Island beginning on Wednesday at 5 a.m. At this time, tourists are being ordered to leave the island but year-round residents will have the option to stay.

A hurricane watch has officially been issued for much of the North Carolina coast as Hurricane Earl approaches. This includes Pasquotank, Camden, inland Currituck, Bertie, Chowan, Perquimans and the Outer Banks.

ocracoke island - Red flags mean stay on the beach

It's inevitable that a hurricane spinning hundreds of miles away in the Atlantic Ocean will bring out thrill-seeking surfers and other adventurers. The waves are more intense, the sea more frothy.

Lifeguards put up the caution flags, hoping to deter children and those who aren’t strong swimmers from entering the surf.

Last weekend, however, red flags — signaling that swimming is prohibited — were posted as rip currents from Hurricane Danielle made the ocean off Virginia Beach too dangerous for swimmers. Sadly, beachgoers continued to enter the swirling water, and lifeguards had possibly their busiest day ever Saturday, pulling 148 people out of the ocean.

The city’s Lifesaving Service restricted beachgoers to wading no more than ankle deep. On Sunday, swimmers were restricted to water below their knees.

As Danielle has drifted away, local officials have begun preparing for another, more severe storm and another round of dangerous surf.

Projections suggest that Hurricane Earl, now a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 135 mph, will be close to the North Carolina coast on Thursday, bringing with it, at the very least, pounding surf, gale-force winds — and rip currents.

Those are narrow, river-like channels that flow away from shore and pull swimmers out to sea. Even experienced swimmers can drown.

In an average year, rip currents are more dangerous than hurricanes, lightning and tornadoes combined. This month, rip currents caused the deaths of at least two vacationers to the Outer Banks. A Vermont man died off Kill Devil Hills after being caught in a rip current, and a Maryland man drowned off Ocracoke Island.

As preparations begin for the next storm, as lines form in grocery stores and batteries, bread and water supplies dwindle, it’s not time to panic. Hampton Roads knows this.

Instead, we know that a storm off the coast means it’s time to prepare. It’s also time to use common sense and heed warnings about killer surf.

A red flag on the beach doesn’t mean it’s time to ride the waves. It means it’s too dangerous to be in the water. So stay on the sand.