WATCH: Hatteras Island Cut Off From Outer Banks News, Reviews

WATCH: Hatteras Island Cut Off From Outer Banks

Healthy Focus Today News

Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina has been cut off from the mainland after Hurricane Irene made its first U.S. landfall on the 200-mile-long chain of tourist-friendly barrier islands. State Highway 12, the main thoroughfare through the islands, is interrupted in five places, reports the Charlotte Observer, isolating not only Hatteras but also the towns of Duck and Rodanthe.

Ocracoke, another island in the Outer Banks that's home to one of the country's oldest continually operating lighthouses, was also cut off over the weekend. Ferries have since restarted service after the hurricane.

The damage is significant for the Outer Banks, whose economy is heavily reliant on summer tourism. "We're done for the year," a museum director in Hatteras told the Miami Herald. "The isolation from the visiting public will be devastating."

With Labor Day still a week away, one hotel manager is holding out hope for a final tourist surge. "This next weekend would have been one of our biggest moneymakers. And many people come here after Labor Day to enjoy the season when it's less crowded," the manager of the Comfort Inn in Buxton, North Carolina told the Miami Herald.