MIAMI (AP) — A stronger and bigger Hurricane Erin pelted parts of the Caribbean and was forecast to create dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast this week.

Parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks are under mandatory evacuation orders, as the National Hurricane Center warns that Hurricane Erin could bring tall waves topping 15 to 20 feet.

Hurricane Erin was a Category 4 storm again Monday morning and is expected to grow even larger and stronger, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Although Erin is forecast to move north between the U.S. and Bermuda, life-threatening surf and rip currents are likely across the Atlantic coast from Florida to Canada.

Coastal flood and beach erosion are also possible this week as Hurricane Erin passes far off the Jersey Shore.

The storm is currently over the Atlantic Ocean, and has rapidly intensified. It is expected to pound the Carolina coast with dangerous surf and riptides.

Hurricane Erin began pelting part of the Caribbean with rain and wind Monday before it's expected to churn up dangerous surf and rip currents along the East Coast this week. Evacuations were being ordered on a few islands along North Carolina’s Outer Banks even though the storm is unlikely to make direct landfall.

Flooding, rip current and small craft weather alerts were issued by the NWS for South Jersey as result of Hurricane Erin.

Erin is the first hurricane to develop over the Atlantic this year, and meteorologists are closely tracking its path and forecast.