Island communities off the coast of North Carolina are bracing for flooding ahead of Hurricane Erin, the year's first Atlantic hurricane.

Coastal communities are on high alert as Hurricane Erin is expected to impact North Carolina beaches this week.

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm again Monday morning and is expected to grow even larger and stronger, Life-threatening surf and rip currents are likely across the Atlantic coast from Florida to Canada.

After exploding in strength at a historic rate this weekend, Hurricane Erin is now a sprawling Category 4 storm churning in the Atlantic. The storm’s enormous footprint is becoming the biggest concern as it threatens to drive life-threatening rip currents and towering waves toward the eastern US coastline and Bermuda.

Erin is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year, and meteorologists are closely tracking its path and forecast.