The Outer Banks of North Carolina were created by the sea and are now being recalled. While the State has escaped any direct hurricane landfalls this year (at least to date), several potent storms have passed offshore and another is due this coming weekend.
Waves and wind produced by these storms have been eroding the beaches and flooding coastal homes. Man-made dunes, created to protect those properties have been pulled out to sea or shoved into the houses. At times, water and sand have closed the main highway.
Climate change will significantly increase these erosive forces and, over the next few decades, one suspects that the Outer Banks may disappear altogether. Rising sea levels and stronger storms will reclaim this scenic landscape.
