Hurricane Erin’s Deadly Toll on NC Sea Turtles

A Successful Nesting Season is Hit Hard 

Emergency warnings went out even before Hurricane Erin’s closest approach to the mainland along the East Coast. Because of high tides, heavy surf and crashing waves, people were told to stay out of the water or, better yet, off the beach. 

Officials knew the storm could be deadly to people. There were also fears about the hundreds of sea turtle nests up higher on the beach, just below the dunes. The majority of sea turtle nests along the coast are built by loggerhead sea turtles, a species classified as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. 

Hurricane Erin hit North Carolina close to hatching time. Sea turtle nests and eggs can withstand some ocean overwash; in certain cases, it may even help keep nests from reaching dangerous temperatures. Nests, however, that remain underwater for extended periods are unlikely to survive. 

Volunteers from turtle rescue groups were worried. Were the tiny turtles able to scramble out of their eggs, climb through the sand and scamper to the sea in time? As it turned out, some made it, but sadly, it appears many did not. Almost a week of heavy surf washed away dunes and chewed up and flooded beaches. 

Officials fear many of those turtles and their nests were lost as the storm slammed the coastline. 

If hatchlings were starting to emerge as the nest was flooded, they were likely buried under wet sand and water and suffocated. The storm also uncovered their nests and washed them away. 

Turtle rescue groups share more details 

Officials with the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center at Surf City, NC, told WUNC many of the nests that hadn’t yet hatched were washed away by the rising tide and huge waves. About half of the 90 nests on Topsail Island had already hatched but very few of the rest will survive. 

It’s the same on Emerald Isle, where its Sea Turtle Patrol told WUNC many of its nests were also washed out. 

Unlike some states that allow relocating eggs to hatcheries, North Carolina prioritizes keeping the hatching process natural. The rules are strict because of the difficulty of guaranteeing the health of baby turtles once they’ve started to incubate in the eggs. 

Dr. Matthew Godfrey, a sea turtle biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, told the Wilmington Star News via email that about half the state’s turtle nests had finished incubation before Erin hit. Those that remained experienced some degree of flooding. There are also reports of hatchlings emerging as the storm was hitting. 

“This goes to show that some sea turtle eggs can withstand storm-related inundation and still produce hatchlings,” said Godfrey. He added that sea turtles have evolved to spread their nest locations and the timing of their nests to mitigate the risk from a single storm to their reproductive success. Sea turtles generally lay eggs in three nests in different locations over a nesting season. 

According to Godfrey, the state won’t have a full account of how many nests were lost until the end of the nesting season. He added, “While storms like Hurricane Erin may reduce the production of hatchlings from some specific nests, the overall rate of hatchling production from N.C. nests should remain relatively good this year.” 

There are encouraging signs. The Beasley Center’s Topsail Turtle Project told WUNC that one nest was seen hatching during Hurricane Erin despite the surf. While a few nests were washed away and others were covered with sand, about 10–12 nests appear to be in good shape. 

While not all the sea turtle nests survived Hurricane Erin on Bald Head Island, volunteers were able to place tags on nesting turtles before they returned to the ocean. That means an innovative tracking program will continue.