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Three weeks after tourists were evacuated in advance of Hurricane Irene, Dare County will allow visitors to start returning Thursday morning to some parts of storm-battered Hatteras Island – but only via ferry from Swan Quarter or Cedar Island to neighboring Ocracoke Island.
The seven villages of Hatteras Island have been closed because of heavy damage from Hurricane Irene, which severed N.C. 12 in several places north of Rodanthe on August 27.
Dare County and the state Ferry Division have allowed Hatteras residents and property owners to return to the island via emergency ferry service from Stumpy Point, but tourists and other visitors will not be allowed to use this service.
Starting at 7 a.m. Thursday, visitors can return to Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras Village by catching a ferry to the village of Ocracoke from Swan Quarter or Cedar Island, then driving to the other end of Ocracoke Island for the ferry to Hatteras.
Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo will remain closed to visitors until sometime after Sept. 29.
Bruce Siceloff reports on traffic and transportation. A News & Observer reporter, editor and blogger since 1976, he took over the