BUXTON, N.C. — When you think of a rapidly eroding shoreline, Rodanthe comes to mind. Especially with six homes already falling into the ocean just this year. But miles south it’s an issue in Buxton as well and one the community is trying to get ahead of. It's something community leaders feel cannot wait until the next beach nourishment project in 2026.
“I'm really sad for the day when I wake up and I see that it's Buxton and we have not one or two houses that are in jeopardy, we have 10, 12," said Wendi Munden, a member of the Buxton Civic Association.
Watch previous coverage: As progress at former Buxton naval site continues, another issue looms
Wendi Munden has spent decades of her life in Buxton.
“Learned how to surf here. So I remember coming here even years before then, and the jetties being these big walls that separated the island. You would boogie board next to them, and then later surf next to them.”
Rebuilding the jetties. That’s what the Buxton Civic Association feels can be a game-changer in addressing the rapid erosion that threatens numerous oceanfront buildings every day in Buxton.
“Even in the last five years, we keep seeing actual pieces of the jetties break off. And with that now, I'm noticing the beaches north of Buxton starting to become shorter and shorter. So, correlation for me, is that the jetties did their job while they were functioning, and now they are non-functioning, and we have a major issue,” said Munden.
Watch related coverage: Sixth house falls in Rodanthe in 2024, concerns that there might be more soon
Though North Carolina doesn’t allow hardened structures on the coast, there are ways this could happen. The civic association is working with Dare County to get something in front of the state legislature while they are in session in January.
“The jetties were put in by the Navy, which was federal government, so they were able to do this. Now it's said that they're not, and we've seen that it works, but now we aren't able to, so it's, how do we change the legislation? Studies need to be done, coastal engineers need to be brought in. We need to know what it's going to look like, what the cost is going to be, how long it's going to take, and just underlying issues that could come up from it,” Munden told News 3.
Dare County manager Bobby Outten said the county has weighed their options with rebuilding the jetties in the past and agreed that it would be a positive along with beach nourishment projects. Outten said they are working to figure out the regulations that a potential project would need to abide by for this to become a reality.
Watch related coverage: Major clean-up progress being made at Buxton formerly used defense site
As of right now, the clock is ticking. As we’ve seen in Rodanthe, mother nature isn’t going to wait. Munden had a message to the public about this issue in Buxton.
“These homes have been standing here since the 60s and the 70s. So the homes that are falling in the ocean are not from people that have just willy nilly bought property and built a new house, thinking it's never going to happen to me, my house is never going to fall into the ocean," said Outten.
"To the general public, so that they know and understand, that this isn't something where somebody made a poor decision, there's reasons in government and environmental issues behind why people are now put in this situation where they're looking at possibly losing their homes."
