This is Buxton. It has 59 ft of elevation in the center and is covered with miles of woods, mostly live oaks and pine. It is full of deer and people have been living here year round for thousands of years.
This is not some spit of sand that idiots built houses on. The hyper erosion that is taking out houses that were built in the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s is from a neglected jetty that is falling apart. No one built a house on the beach. No one is that stupid nor is it allowed. All of these houses were behind the dune 100s of yards away like every beach on Earth, some of them three rows back.
We lost 147 ft in 11 days after hurricane Erin widened the gap in the jetty that was already there. People have been begging to have the jetty replaced for 30 years. It was not done and this is the result.
It is not global warming and I’m not denying that global warming is real. I know it’s real but this is not from that or it would be happening in Avon and Frisco and everywhere else. It’s a thousand yard area. The little stretch right next to the jetty and it’s because of the neglect, not mother nature.
Outer Banks Motel, for example, has been there since the 1940s that’s older than highway 12. The land where the Navy base was belonged to my great-grandmother. It was stolen with eminent domain. She was not paid a penny, tried to sue them in court but you’re talking about the federal government so it went nowhere.
That Navy base leaked oil into the ocean for 2 and 1/2 years and now the jetty that they built and let fall apart is making the erosion exponentially worse. Since they built it it has to be maintained.
Before anyone makes any stupid comments, just don’t. Buxton has been ripped apart. If you don’t have any empathy then just keep scrolling. You don’t need to make a snarky comment. Pour salt on the wounds. Keep it to yourself. It’s not that hard. This link is for Buxton Strong t-shirts
I just got my beautiful blue T Shirt. Nice and long and comfy. Love it.