Seven houses by the North Carolina Sea have collapsed in the Atlantic Ocean since Tuesday, including six in less than 24 hours while hurricanes spent offshore.
The seventh house collapsed just after 8 p.m. Wednesday in Buxton. City officials said the house was unoccupied before its collapse.
Laura Moore, professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s College of Sciences of the Department of Earth, Marine Sciences and the Environment, studied models along the coast and the impact of climate change.
“This is such a difficult problem for those who experience it from the first hand,” said Moore.
The six houses collapsed Tuesday and the seventh Wednesday is the total to 19 in the past five years in the Rodanthe and Buxton region.
“Unfortunately, Buxton and Rodanthe are one of these places where there is not enough sand that arrives to replace the sand that comes out with long -ground currents and therefore the shore moves with land where chronically the shore erodes,” said Moore.
Many people suggest spending money on the renovation of the beach to protect coastal houses.
“What is particularly difficult in these regions is the quantity of sand would be necessary to counter long -term erosion, the quantities are large, the frequency should be so often that it is really extremely expensive,” said Moore.
Moore says there is an expected increase in the frequency of serious storms due to climate change. These storms occur on higher water levels than in the past and they are more intense.
Wral News asked Moore what was the coastal erosion solution.
“If we want the landscape to persist in the long term, the ideal solution is to adapt with it in one way or another,” said Moore.
Humberto and Imelda stay off in the Atlantic Ocean. However, Ocean Over Lash storms violated the dune line and pushed the sand and deep water on the road.
Wral News has reported the number of levels of sea levels thinks that there are barrier island areas that are not ideal for development.
Rodanthe has become the focal point of the national conversation on the impacts of climate change on elevation of sea level in coastal areas.
When the houses fall, they leave behind dangerous debris which can disperse for kilometers along the shore.
Often, the owners are forced by the conditions of their insurance to wait for the house to collapse. Then they can receive their insurance money.
