Earl, a powerful Category 4 storm was about 660 miles south of Cape Hatteras in the morning, forecasters in the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
Forecasters said the storm's center was expected to pass near the Outer Banks islands off the coast of North Carolina, on Thursday night and focus in southeastern New England on Friday night.
Perdue and the governors of Virginia and Maryland have signed orders to declare states of emergency and mandatory evacuation orders are in effect for parts of the North Carolina coast.
"I'm seeing the excitement on the water meets the beach this morning in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina," David Common CBC News on Thursday said that the Outer Banks community. "This is where the strength of hurricanes is likely to be felt first.
"People are used to storms, and many have taken into account the coastal evacuation. Visitors to the popular beaches here have been sorted out. The most tangible sign that the hurricane is approaching is the absence of people.
"I like to think of it as an imminent accident. If Earl is still waiting his track will probably be a touching - horrendous damage, but no. All I know is a slight deviation from this is a head on collision .
Perdue urged people to pay attention to forecasts and asked the sailors to leave the water.
"This is the time that is not in our control," Perdue said Thursday morning.
"At this point it remains only to predict brush the coast in the Outer Banks today, but again, nobody knows."
He called Earl, which has maximum sustained winds of 230 mph, a huge storm "and said officials will monitor the progress of the storm during the night.
CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe said people would be able to feel tropical-storm force winds over 200 miles from the center of the storm.
The storm was weakening later Thursday, but officials warned coastal residents to prepare for high winds, torrential rains and huge waves that can create rip currents.
Visitors to North Carolina's Ocracoke Island left the area on Wednesday and ferry people in Cape Hatteras were also told to leave. Both are part of the Outer Banks, with long stretches of sandy beaches popular with vacationers.
While thousands of tourists take the calls to evacuate Hatteras Island, locals familiar with hurricanes pledged to weather the storm, preparing for a few days of the transition to continental competition.
"I worry about not being able to return here," said Nancy Scarborough, who runs the Hatteras Cabanas. "I'd rather be stuck on this side of that side."
The National Guard of North Carolina is the deployment of troops to help U.S. 80 Barack Obama President declared an emergency in the state. The declaration authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all relief efforts.
Further up the east coast, emergency officials urged people to have emergency plans and supplies ready and if weighed evacuation order, as it watched the latest maps.
Residents in the Maritime Provinces are also encouraged to prepare for the storm.
Environment Canada has issued a tropical storm watch for the provinces of Nova Scotia from Yarmouth, Shelburne and Queens.
Chris Fogarty, from the Canadian Hurricane Centre, said that the clock can be upgraded to a hurricane warning at some point Thursday as the storm approaches.
"The latest forecast will still count in Canadian waters from Friday to Saturday with a 85 percent chance of remaining a hurricane," said Wagstaffe.
There is a 40-50 percent chance Earl landfall in Nova Scotia, said Wagstaffe.
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