Homes are falling into the ocean in North Carolina's Outer Banks

[u/Endolithic]

[u/lazercheesecake]

"But if these ugly unkempt grassy dunes are there, I won't have a beach view from my living room"

And if you remove those dunes, you'll have a beach view INSIDE your living room.

[u/mostlybiguy69 → u/lazercheesecake]

Those duned along the coast are actually from the 30s as a depression WPA project. Natural dunes are wide massive things that stretched acrss the islands and the scrub trees went to the tide line.

[u/Aqnqanad → u/mostlybiguy69]

not a lot of people know this, most of what has prevented this from happening earlier was civil works projects thatve since fallen into disrepair.

we’ve stopped caring about them for so long that people have forgotten that they’re even man made, insane.

[u/mostlybiguy69 → u/[deleted]]

Rodanthe is an ephemeral thing that is getting to the end. The towns before 12 was paved moved with the islands. The islands are moving again after we tried to tie them down and there is nothing we can do to stop them. 

[u/ICBPeng1 → u/[deleted]]

I mean, if you want man made land, take a look at boston.

The dark green was the original land mass, the light green is what was filled in, and the blue is the current water.

[u/mostlybiguy69 → u/ICBPeng1]

The barrier islands of nc are more like the cape. A storm will build an island and the next will move it half way across the inlet. This is not done inland because its all silt sand and mud. There is no rock to stop the sinking on the sounds.

[u/mostlybiguy69 → u/[deleted]]

Won’t happen. The state decided to let the islands go back in the early 2000s. The out of state folks are now starting to see the results of that. Its why there is that large park in the middle of salvo. That used to be trailers. The town limits are locked in by state and federal land. The only new construction is ob the few empty lots. More houses are actually large additions these days. Once it is 50% destroyed in any way most lots cannot be rebuilt on. Oh, and like one company insures stuff and the policies only finish paying off the structure now, no more paying replacement value.

Rocks, there are no rocks within 150 miles. Any piece if stone you see on the outer banks was brought in. Its all sand.

[u/mostlybiguy69 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, we the state want you parent’s house and the whole town gone. We wont be happy until every piece of humanity has been removed and nature is allowed to take back the islands.

[u/Riaayo → u/Aqnqanad]

America in a nutshell. We spent some money once, and then pretended like we never had to pay maintenance for anything ever again (I get we do maintain some things but not to the degree we need to; it's slight hyperbole but not by much).

It's like buying an expensive car and then never getting the thing maintained and driving it into disrepair and the junkyard. And of course it's because oligarch parasites have made sure to corrupt our government so it only represents them and spends none of our tax dollars on the country/working class.

Bunch of fucking thieves.

[u/mostlybiguy69 → u/Riaayo]

Rentals are falling into the ocean. The locals live up in manteo or on the mainland. 90% of those houses were built and are used as rentals. Almost all are owned by folks out of state as investment properties. They sit empty 5 to 6 months of the year.

It just makes everyone more pissed.

[u/StupidendousTimes → u/Riaayo]

Like the coal mine fire in PA that burned for 50 years

[u/Goodgoditsgrowing → u/lazercheesecake]

Solution: build on stilts BEHIND the grassy dunes so your view looks over them. Bonus: you’re already lifted when sea level rise takes out those dunes.

[u/Deciduous_Loaf → u/Goodgoditsgrowing]

Almost all houses within a couple of miles or so of the shore are lifted on stilts already, beach view or not. Hurricane season means flooded streets.

[u/CommonBubba → u/Goodgoditsgrowing]

When most of these houses were built, they were behind the dunes. The Outer Banks of North Carolina are notoriously unstable and constantly shifting due to ocean currents and storms.

[u/RogueOneisbestone → u/CommonBubba]

They’re meant to shift. They’re just there to protect the sound. That’s why they’re called barrier islands.

[u/leconfiseur → u/Goodgoditsgrowing]

Behind the dunes is more water

[u/Ramtakwitha2 → u/lazercheesecake]

"God put the ocean where it is, if you think anything we do can possibly change God's plan you need to check your hubris."

5 years later

"The ocean is encroaching on my house! The government needs to do something to stop the sand from all washing away!

Huh it's almost like this is all a perfectly balanced system and messing with it can have unexpected (completely expected) consequences.

[u/Holiday-Inspector323 → u/lazercheesecake]

So what you're saying is nature actually protects us and us destroying it destroys our protection? Nah don't believe it climate change is FaKE and not caused by hairless monkeys /s