Theresa Ray lives in a small house on 4-foot stilts in the low-lying marshlands of Ocracoke Island, what many consider the gem of North Carolina's Outer Banks.
On Friday, as she was making ramen noodles in her kitchen, Ray heard what sounded like a fleet of trucks barreling straight toward her.
"I'm looking out my window and you just see this 3-foot wall of water, and it's only 3 feet, but it still like keeps rushing in more and more," she said. "It keeps coming."
It was Hurricane Dorian making landfall in the Outer Banks, bringing galloping winds that pushed water surging through Ocracoke Island.
"I got my dog and some jugs of water and some Pop-Tarts and we headed upstairs," she said.
Ray and hundreds of other islanders were stuck in their attics as several feet of water continually rose.