Along three blocks in a North Carolina beach town, severe erosion is destroying and threatening homes, forcing hard choices and offering a glimpse of the dilemmas other communities will face.
RODANTHE, N.C. — Early last year, a house crumbled into the sea in this small Outer Banks community, home to some of theWave after wave, the ocean had clawed away at the beach until the stilted homes finally gave way. The collapses spread debris — and anxiety — for more than a dozen miles along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
TOP: Longtime Outer Banks resident Carroll Midgett Sr., left, and Gus Gusler discuss work that must be done before Gusler's house is moved. MIDDLE: Atlantic Ocean waves wash past houses to flood Seagull Street. BOTTOM: The incoming tide pushes sand over the deck steps of a beachfront house on Seagull Street.projects or other measures.
“The place is magical, there’s just something about it,” he said. “Thirty or 40 years from now, the way the oceans are rising, I don’t know what’s going to happen. We might as well protect it as long as we can and enjoy it.”On a blustery afternoon, Dare County Commissioner Danny Couch walks along Ocean Drive, a stretch he calls the “poster child” for accelerated coastal erosion in the United States.
Couch is well versed with the arguments unfolding across the community — about how close people should be allowed to live to the rising sea, about whether the government should be doing more to help combat erosion, about what will happen toDare County Commissioner Danny Couch walks along the beach on Ocean Drive. Last year, three of the street’s beachfront houses collapsed into the sea.TOP LEFT: Dare County Commissioner Danny Couch walks along the beach on Ocean Drive.
Couch sympathizes with homeowners. But, he points out, people have continued to buy and sell homes along this stretch in recent years. “If you’re going to buy on the oceanfront, that’s a roll of the dice,” he says. “It always has been and always will be.” Munson knows he probably will never fully recoup his investment, but it has given his family cherished memories. “It’s a place we hold so dear to our hearts, I just couldn’t stand to see it go,” he said. “If I bought 10 more years of that happiness, then great.”“Something, sweetheart, has changed out there,” says Cynthia Doughty, who has lived in her oceanfront home on South Shore Drive for more than two decades. “I never, ever thought I would ever have to move my house.
“The changes have been so dramatic, it’s either move it or lose it,” Doughty says. “Because if you lose it, there’s nothing you can do. It has just been so profound that people really have no choice.” TOP: Amy and Tom Urban chat inside the oceanfront home they purchased in early 2022. MIDDLE: A crew works to stabilize Cynthia Doughty's South Shore Drive home after it was moved inland from its original location. BOTTOM: The Urbans chat with longtime Outer Banks resident Carroll Midgett Sr. in their backyard, where there was once a swimming pool.
“We wouldn’t be here tonight if this board of commissioners didn’t care about what’s going on,” commission chairman Bob Woodard told the crowd. Amy and Tom Urban chat with longtime Outer Banks resident Carroll Midgett Sr. as they assess storm damage. Patricelli said he has spent more than $60,000 to pay for the resulting cleanup, and is wrestling with authorities about how much more he still owes. He continues to negotiate with his insurance company over the extent of his coverage. Either way, his investment has vanished.
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