CAPE HATTERAS, N.C. – The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami is reporting hurricane-force winds “just offshore” Cape Lookout, part of the low-lying islands that make up North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The Category 1 storm is located around 25 miles south-southwest of Cape Lookout, and around 90 miles southwest of Cape Hatteras, further north on the string of barrier islands and spits.

Top sustained winds remain at 90 mph and the storm is moving northeast at 14 mph. The storm is expected to weaken slowly over the next few days, but will likely remain a powerful hurricane as it moves along the coast of North Carolina today.

So far, the storm has been blamed for one death in North Carolina and at least 30 in the Bahamas.

Much of southeaster Virginia is shutting down as Hurricane Dorian churns up the Atlantic coast. Virginia Beach officials announced mandatory evacuations Thursday for the community of Sandbridge. The strip of land is home to beach houses that sit along the Atlantic Coast near the North Carolina border. Voluntary evacuations were also encouraged in flood-prone areas in the coastal city of nearly 500,000 people. The low-lying region is prone to flooding without much rain. Dorian is expected to bring heavy rains and 2 to 4 feet of storm surge Friday.