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In One Day, Two Military Ordnance Found On Outer Banks

Updated

Two devices that appear to be World War II-era training ordnance have washed up on separate parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks.

The Currituck County Emergency Management Department says the first object was found Monday around 7:15 a.m. on Whalehead Beach in Corolla. On the same day, Cape Hatteras National Seashore reported a similar-looking device on a beach in Avon, nearly 80 miles south.

Authorities initially cleared the immediate area around the devices. The Ordnance Unit at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point sent a team to both locations to determine whether they were unexploded ordnance.

The Currituck County Sheriff's Office says the object in Corolla was a harmless dummy device the military used in training exercises. A spokesman for Cape Hatteras National Seashore says the one in Avon was also a training ordnance.

A press release from Cape Hatteras National Seashore says severe weather often washes debris ashore. Hurricane Jose caused flooding on the Outer Banks last week. Hurricane Maria is expected to produce tropical storm conditions there this week.

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Will Michaels is WUNC's Weekend Host and Reporter.
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