Homeowners on Hatteras Island, North Carolina, are resorting to moving entire houses on wheels as coastal erosion accelerates, with 19 homes lost to the sea since September. Barry Crum, a lifelong resident, has become the island's main house mover, jacking up dwellings and carefully wheeling them hundreds of feet back from the crashing waves.
"It's never been this busy," said Crum. "I've seen a lot but I hadn't seen this kind of erosion this quickly before." The pace of sea-level rise has turned the Outer Banks into a "canary in the coalmine" for other East Coast communities, according to Laura Moore, an expert in coastal change at the University of North Carolina.
Rapid Erosion and Collapses
Since 2020, 31 houses have been lost on Hatteras Island. On 30 September, five houses collapsed within 45 minutes. Hunter Hicks, a resident, described the sound of a house falling: "It sounded like a bomb went off." The erosion has wiped out beaches and sand dunes in Buxton, swallowing part of a neighborhood.
Historical Context and Challenges
Coastal erosion is natural on barrier islands, but human-made dunes and development have worsened the problem. The Cape Hatteras lighthouse was moved in 1999 after losing over 1,000 feet of land. Today, the National Park Service faces cleanup of debris from collapsed homes. "There's no silver-bullet solution," said David Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Efforts to combat erosion include beach replenishment and rebuilding a groin, but these are temporary fixes. "It's redistributing the problem, it doesn't fix it," Moore noted. Some residents advocate raising Highway 12 to prevent flooding.
Community Resilience and House Moving
House moving has become a cottage industry. Lat Williams moved his home 600 feet back, renaming it "Answered Prayers." Each move can cost up to $300,000. Crum is optimistic, but experts warn that managed retreat may be inevitable. "We must now move an entire community in the same way," said coastal geologist Stanley Riggs.
Despite the challenges, residents remain resilient. Natalie Kavanagh, whose family has been on the Outer Banks since the 1700s, said: "We need to be able to get people here so we can survive here. I think we'll all keep trying until we can't."
