Photo: epicshutterphotography//Instagram
Approximately two-million cubic yards of sand are being placed along Buxton Beach shores on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks to battle the ongoing beach erosion crisis that has taken 32 houses since 2020. A shocking 20 of those homes have collapsed into the ocean since September 16, 2025, highlighted by the collapse of five buildings in just one hour later that same month and five more in one day in late October, according to Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The new nourishment project is scheduled to take approximately 95 days to complete. Dredging, however, is expected to wrap up by the end of September, with a second dredge being brought into the fold in mid-August. The project also includes jetty and groin work, repairing those structures in order to anchor the new sand being brought in.
“Here we are. The day has arrived. They are putting pipes on the beach. The jetty crew has shown up. Big old cranes and stuff. It’s very exciting,” said Jeff Dawson with the Buxton Civic Association. “The insurance of a jetty. I don’t think I can state how important that is. I think it’s going to do tremendously.”
The entire project is obviously a welcome sight for locals, who have seen a range of efforts to fight against beach erosion threats. Some homeowners have taken matters into their own hands and had their houses physically moved further inland, for example. In April, a house at the end of Lighthouse Road in Buxton was lifted and moved about 150 feet inland. The owner had bought an adjacent parcel of land and then hired a contractor who specializes in such projects. Barry Crum, owner of the contractor tasked with moving that particular home, told the Island Free Press back in April he had at least half a dozen other relocation projects in the area, highlighting the urgency and demand.
Dare County also implemented a targeted buyout program in which severely threatened homes could be purchased by the county and then demolished.
“With the county taking ownership, we can control the debris field when we take it down so it does not get strewn up and down the beach,” Assistant County Manager Dustin Peele told Island Free Press in May. The county had just purchased and demolished one of the local houses at the time, paying $250,000, which they say was consistent with what the homeowner would have received from an insurance payout had the house collapsed like many others.
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