Hurricane Erin never made landfall and spared most coastal infrastructure. The same cannot be said for sea turtle nests. Along North Carolina’s barrier islands, waves and surge overwashed or destroyed many clutches, burying eggs deep under wet sand or pulling them out to sea, according to ABC News.

On Topsail Island, conservation teams found more than half of 43 loggerhead nests lost, with eggs sitting in water and little chance of survival. Farther up the coast on Emerald Isle, volunteers estimated that eight of ten remaining nests were wiped out during Erin’s closest pass, a late gut punch to what had been a strong season to that point, ABC News reported.

Hurricane Erin destroyed dozens of sea turtle nests in North Carolina.

High Surf, High Stakes

Teams on the Northern Outer Banks found a similar pattern: not widespread scouring of beaches, but near-universal overwash at nest sites. N.E.S.T. (Network for Endangered Sea Turtles) volunteers documented nearly every nest receiving some level of inundation, with one Corolla site partially washed out and others saturated beneath new sand sheets, the Outer Banks Voice reports.

Embryos are reptiles; they cannot survive prolonged submersion. When a nest passes roughly 75 days without hatching, crews excavate to assess development and determine failure, the group told the local outlet, which has tracked repeated years of storm-tide challenges.

North Carolina law prevents moving turtle nests before hatching.

Why Timing Matters

Hurricane season collides with nesting and hatching season. That overlap magnifies risk: high surf can inundate eggs just days before emergence, while shifting dunes and fresh sand can smother air spaces the embryos need. Marine researchers speaking with FOX Weather warned that only about one in a thousand hatchlings reaches adulthood, so each nest becomes a critical bet against long odds.

After Erin, the Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol in Northeast Florida reported at least 23 nests inundated by saltwater and noted that predators and human activity can compound storm losses during the narrow window when hatchlings race to the sea, the outlet reported.

Hurricanes align with peak nesting season, compounding risk.

Natural Process, Limited Intervention

North Carolina’s conservation rules emphasize a natural hatch, limiting when eggs can be moved. That means even well-prepared teams often must watch surf erode their odds and then measure the aftermath.

Officials with the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center said many unhatched Topsail Island nests were washed away, while a handful survived or even hatched through the storm, according to WUNC/PRE. As of the center’s latest updates, about 26 nests remained under watch there, with 10 to 12 still looking viable—proof that some clutches can ride out rough water when positioned higher on dunes or buffered by sand fencing, the station reported.

At least 23 nests in North Carolina were inundated by saltwater.

Lessons From a So-Called “Miss”

Erin shows how a storm can miss towns yet devastate wildlife. Volunteers on Emerald Isle described waves arriving earlier and higher than expected, a nuance that can matter as much as category or track, ABC News reported.

On the Northern OBX, N.E.S.T. volunteers said severe weather is now “almost annual,” whether from king tides paired with offshore systems or direct tropical swells, according to the Outer Banks Voice.

In Florida, the same week’s surveys overlapped with another threat: an unleashed dog killed 23 newly emerged hatchlings at Atlantic Beach, a preventable loss that highlights how small human choices add weight to storm impacts, FOX Weather reported.

Erin’s waves came earlier and stronger than predicted.

What Beachgoers Can Do Now

Simple habits help rebuild margins. Fill in sand holes, pack up beach gear at dusk, dim ocean-facing lights, and keep dogs leashed. Report any turtle out of the water to local responders. Emerald Isle’s 280-member patrol even cuts small trenches to guide hatchlings away from house lights, a tactic shared with ABC News. Erin may fade from the forecast, but its lessons remain visible in the sand.

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