High winds at the North Carolina Outer Banks are again causing problems — this time blowing large cargo containers off a ship and causing major flooding of roads.
A coastal flood warning was put into place through Monday for much of the Outer Banks as winds cause flooding for the sound-side and ocean side of some roads, the National Weather Service said Sunday.
Soundside flooding will be seen mainly from Ocracoke Island to downeast Carteret County.
But the worst flooding will the ocean side of Outer Banks Dare County from Cape Hatteras north.
Those areas “will have ocean overwash and significant beach erosion issues around the times of high tide into Monday morning,” forecasters said.
N.C. Highway 12 will likely remain flooded and impassable into Monday, the weather service said.
The N.C. DOT said Sunday that N.C. 12 is closed between the Bonner Bridge and Rodanthe and again on Ocracoke from the Pony Pens to the Ferry Terminal.
“The road will likely not reopen at any point today,” the N.C. DOT said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard is warning mariners around the Oregon Inlet to use caution after a cargo ship lost some of its containers during high winds Saturday night.
Watchstanders at Sector North Carolina command center said the crew from the Maersk Shanghai cargo ship contacted them Saturday night saying about 70-73 cargo containers had been blown overboard.
The watchstanders were told the cargo was lost about 17 miles off Oregon Inlet, North Carolina.
High winds and heavy seas are believed to be the blame for the loss.
The Coast Guard urges all mariners to transit this area with caution.