Photo: Jenni Koontz//Epic Shutter Photography
Oceanfront houses throughout the Outer Banks have been ravaged by coastal erosion in recent years. Fittingly, locals have called for action and there are often different views on what local and state officials can do, or should do, to manage the growing hazards posed to these homes.
Dare County, for example, is planning a beach nourishment and groin repair project for this summer, which should mitigate erosion impacts. Local government officials don’t expect projects like this to solve the problem(s) alone, though, in which case homeowners themselves are tasked with taking action, or sitting by in hopes the next storm won’t claim their property.
For reference, 31 homes have collapsed into the ocean in the area since May of 2020, according to Cape Hatteras National Seashore. What’s more shocking though, is that 20 of those 31 have collapsed since mid-September 2025.
One Buxton Beach homeowner has taken action to protect three houses they own at the end of Old Lighthouse Road, hopefully ensuring the structures aren’t added to that growing list. According to Island Free Press, the homeowner bought adjacent open parcels of land about 200 to 250 feet inland, and the process of moving those structures further inland has begun. Footage of the process hit social media this week, showing one three-story house being moved by Crum Works Inc., which specializes in lifting and relocating homes.
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“We have definitely been busy the last few months, but at least we have been able to help people,” lead contractor Barry Crum told Island Free Press.
The current relocation project is supposed to be wrapped up by the end of April, but Crum tells local media the company has half-a-dozen similar relocation projects slated for the same stretch of Buxton Beach.
Outer Banks local and professional surfer Brett Barley has been particularly outspoken about the issue. He’s watched his community get hammered by each storm. As he pointed out several weeks ago when the area was last hit hard by a weather event and subsequent collapses of more buildings, there are “about half a dozen more houses ready to collapse during the next big storm.”
