>> reporter: the one road off the island was a slow-moving mess. >> they won't let us stay. they're going to make us sit in this traffic. >> reporter: the storm is fearsome and still forecast to skirt the eastern coastline. but state officials worry it could change its mind. >> there have been times people have sworn to us it's not going to touch us and within three hours it's right on top of us. >> reporter: fema is already shipping bottled water, generators and 300,000 meals to north carolina and massachusetts. >> we could see watches and warnings continue to move up the east coast. that's why it's so important for residents to have an evacuation plan ready to go if the evacuation order were called for. >> reporter: fema says residents from north carolina to maine should look out for storm surge. a moving wall of water that could do terrible things to low-lying areas highlighted here in blue. this is cape cod, in the path of earl, and home to 500,000 summer residents. officials are very worried about the storm, saying that even though it may be 80 to 100 miles offshore, we could still see hurricane-force winds here. steve osunsami, abc news, on hatteras island, north carolina.