Hyde County announced that starting Monday, September 9, they will begin allowing permanent Ocracoke residents to come back to the island. Those coming back must have a green re-entry pass or a Hatteras priority boarding pass sticker on their vehicle to board the ferry.

The county reports that it usually does not allow any re-entry prior to critical infrastructure being operational, but due to the unique situation caused by the flooding, “we want to allow residents to get back to their homes as soon as possible to start mitigating the damages. We will readdress other re-entry categories as critical infrastructure starts to come back online.”

Emergency personnel that have red re-entry passes and deliveries deemed critical to recovery and preauthorized by incident command staff will have boarding priority over residents. Hyde officials caution that spots on the ferry are not guaranteed. Boarding will be on a first come, first served basis after the priority vehicles are loaded. If space is not available, those willing to walk on will have that available as an option.

“Be aware that we have limited resources on the island and your home may not be habitable. We still do not have power and are under a boil water advisory,” the advisory continues. “We do not have any shelters on the island for displaced residents to use. Make sure you bring anything you may need for your day to day life when you come back.”

The NCDOT Ferry Division will add an additional route to Ocracoke via the Hatteras ferry terminal that will come directly to Silver Lake. There are some restrictions on that route due to the type of ferry being used and the ramps available. The ferry division is advising that vehicles with low clearance will not be able to board this route.

The ferry schedule for Monday, Sept. 9 will be as follows:

– Hatteras to Ocracoke-Silver Lake: 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

– Ocracoke-Silver Lake to Hatteras: 10:30 a.m., 12:30 a.m., 4:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m.

Only high-clearance vehicles will be allowed on the Hatteras-Silver Lake route.

In addition, the Ferry Division’s Pamlico Sound routes will be on the following schedule:

– Swan Quarter to Ocracoke: 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

– Ocracoke to Swan Quarter: 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

– Cedar Island to Ocracoke: 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.

– Ocracoke to Cedar Island:  11 a.m. and 5 p.m.

All fuel deliveries to Ocracoke should use the 9 a.m. Swan Quarter to Ocracoke departure.

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