May 21, 2013
Authorities on North Carolina's Ocracoke Island have issued a mandatory evacuation order for visitors to leave starting at 5 a.m. Wednesday as Hurricane Irene approaches.
Officials said Tuesday that a mandatory evacuation order for all non-emergency personnel will go into effect Thursday morning for the barrier island, which is only accessible by boat.
Tommy Hutcherson, a resident who serves on the local board that makes decisions about when to evacuate, says officials want to have enough time to get everybody off.
Ocracoke has about 800 full-time residents and a population that swells to thousands of visitors in the summer.
Click the document above to see the evacuation routes for North Carolina's coast.
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