Hurricane Erin has strengthened into a Category 2 storm as it approaches Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, bringing heavy rains that could cause flooding and landslides.

In North Carolina, visitors and residents on Hatteras and Oracoke Islands have been told to evacuate. Hurricane Erin is not likely to make direct landfall in the U.S., but the eastern seaboard is under the risk for coastal flooding and life-threatening rip currents.