Two decades ago, coastal erosion was hardly a concern for families building oceanfront homes.
Today, it’s swallowing shorelines at alarming rates — and on Hatteras Island, it’s making once-prime areas uninhabitable.
What happened?
Scott Twentyman and Cindy Doughty, a couple from Rodanthe, North Carolina, were compelled to take drastic action to save their beach house, Realtor.com reported.
Their three-story house, built along the shoreline, was in danger of collapsing into the Atlantic Ocean.
Hatteras Island was a prime location for beach properties, and erosion was not a concern. But, in recent years, the shoreline had been retreating nearly 13 feet per year, by the couple’s estimate.
Storms have also gotten stronger, with several neighboring homes collapsing during nor’easters and hurricanes.
Fearing theirs could be next, the couple did all they could to save their house. They spent $200,000 to have professionals move the entire structure to an adjacent lot they owned, just 100 feet inland.
“We had no choice,” said Twentyman. Doughty added that their deep emotional connection to the home made the expensive relocation worthwhile.
Why is coastal erosion concerning?
A prime beach property becoming uninhabitable within a single generation signals a deeper crisis — it also offers a glimpse of the dangers we face if we do not act today.
Although Twentyman and Doughty’s house now sits 100 feet inland on bedrock, their new location could be unsafe if the shoreline continues to recede.
Rodanthe is not alone. Other coastal communities in North Carolina are facing similar threats. The state is projected to see up to 1.6 feet of sea level rise by 2050, according to a report by N.C. Coastal Resources Commission Science Panel, summarized by Coastwatch.
These changes are not caused by isolated weather events but by long-term shifts in climate patterns. Human activities that release heat-trapping gases exacerbate the problem — accelerating glacial melt, driving sea level rise, and supercharging weather events.
If global temperatures continue to rise unchecked, more regions will experience devastating storms, and some areas will be too hot to live in within the next 50 years, as NASA has warned.
What can coastal communities do?
The couple advised other people in coastal communities to consider moving their homes further inland, too. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford the six-figure price tag of relocating a house.
Still, communities can help mitigate the devastating effects of a warming Earth by taking positive, climate-friendly actions, such as making homes more energy-efficient or switching from a gas-guzzling car to an electric vehicle.
This issue, in particular, is not just about moving houses further inland — it’s about moving society toward real action. If people do not stop human activities that contribute to heat-trapping pollution, more communities worldwide will face the same fate as Rodanthe.
If appropriate steps are taken, future generations will still be able to enjoy the view from oceanfront homes.
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