Coastal families relocate as erosion swallows homes on Atlantic barrier islands
Rising seas and accelerating erosion are forcing homeowners on the Outer Banks and in Connecticut to move or lift their houses, while local officials scramble to protect the shoreline.
Homeowners along the Atlantic coast are confronting a stark new reality as rising sea levels and stronger storms erode the land beneath their properties. In Buxton, North Carolina, Lat Williams and his wife Debbie relocated their three-bedroom house inland on a set of wheels after the beachfront collapsed, a move that exceeded a quarter-million dollars and depleted their retirement savings. Meanwhile, in Connecticut, Tim Rath lifted his 60-ton home nine feet using a hydraulic system, a $50,000 effort aimed at preserving his family legacy after repeated flood damage.
Coastal scientist Reide Corbett notes erosion rates of 10 to 15 feet per year, meaning homeowners can lose an entire beachfront within a single mortgage term. Climate Central research indicates that by 2050, millions of Americans and over a million homes could be at risk from severe coastal flooding. Local officials, including Cape Hatteras National Seashore superintendent Dave Hallac and Dare County manager Bobby Outten, continue to replenish beaches and repair jetties to protect infrastructure and the tourism economy, but they acknowledge the solution may only be temporary.
Why it matters
The story shows how climate-driven erosion is reshaping coastal living, imposing huge costs on families and local governments.
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