Hyde County released information late Friday, September 13 about Ocracoke reentry procedures.

“Please read this entire release before attempting to access Ocracoke Island,” the release began. “Hyde County is working very closely with the North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division to discontinue the manifest process implemented at the outset of the event and transition to a reservation system administered by the ferry terminals.”

Starting Saturday, September 14, sound route ferry reservations will be taken from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily at 1-800-BY-FERRY (1-800-293-3779). The release advised that the Hatteras Ferry Terminal does not have a reservation system and vehicles will be placed in the stacking lanes using the priority system listed below.

With this transition scheduled for Saturday morning, the Hyde County Mainland Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has been closed as of September 13 at 8 p.m.

Given the extensive damage to infrastructure in Ocracoke, the Hyde County is requesting the continued enforcement of entry/reentry restrictions and priorities at all ferry terminals delivering passengers to Ocracoke. Therefore, Ocracoke entry/reentry will be restricted to the following priorities:

PRIORITY I

– County/State Requested Resources

– Emergency Personnel

– Medical/Clinic

– National Park Service

– County Employees

– Code Enforcement Officers/Inspectors

– Department of Transportation

– Power Company

– Debris Removal

– Sanitation

– Mail and Parcel

PRIORITY II

– Insurance Adjusters

– Contractors

– Distributors/Suppliers/Vendors

– Volunteers

PRIORITY III

– Residents

– Non-resident Property Owners

– Local Business Owners and Employees

– School Employees/Staff

All contractors, insurance adjusters and state missions will be validated by Hyde County and a list will be provided to NCDOT Ferry Division on a continual basis. Contractors and insurance adjusters should email validation@hydecountync.gov with their credential/license and client list to be validated by Hyde’s permits office. The permits office will be available to verify credentials from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Since the new reservation system is being implemented beginning on a weekend, credentials will be validated by email through this weekend, September 14-15. Going forward, contractors and adjusters attempting to access the island on a weekend must have their credentials and client list validated by 5 p.m. on Fridays. If the required information is not validated before arriving at the terminal, then boarding will not be granted.

Individuals seeking entry/reentry must have the appropriate Hyde County issued reentry tag or a valid North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Ferry Division issued priority pass. Expired reentry tags will be honored as an acceptable means of establishing priority for this event.

The Hyde County re-entry tag colors are as follows:

1. Emergency Personnel (Red)
2. Infrastructure (Yellow)
3. Resident (Green)
4. Non-Resident Property Owner (White)

If a commuter fails to produce the aforementioned credentials, they will be required to show evidence of residency or property ownership.

The restrictions and priorities will be effective until new instructions are issued or the access limitations are terminated by Hyde County. Law enforcement officers will enforce the restrictions and priorities on all ferry routes delivering passengers to Ocracoke until further notice.

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