I have been going to Ocracoke for nearly 40 years. My wife and I honeymooned on the island. I am a non-resident owner of a rental cottage there. Our cottage sits directly overlooking the Sound, elevated to protect it from surge. It was built in the 1980's and survived many storms with only minimal repairs. It is an incredible location.
Although this island is small it drives the economy of Hyde County. The population swells to thousands during the tourist season. They come to fish, kayak, read, drink coffee, surf, swim in the ocean on an undeveloped beach, and enjoy the abundant fresh seafood. There are no homes built on the ocean beach, unlike many other locations in the Outer Banks. All the cottages are in the Village or along the more peaceful Pamlico Sound. The majority of the island is designated as a Federally Protected National Seashore. It has been voted one of the top beaches for many years. There are miles of protected undeveloped beach that keeps this island so pristine.
Relocation is not the answer. It is a callous suggestion for a proud group of individuals that share a historical and proud heritage and homeland. Ocracokers are a truly unique population of strong and hard working individuals, bonded by a hundreds of years of adversity and an individual brogue. They should not be forced to move. They are our neighbors and fellow Americans.
85
@South Paw. Thank you! As “dingbatters” who have been coming to Ocracoke since ‘65 (now on 5th generation), we appreciate your kind and sensible comments.
15
@Darlene Meeker Long live the “Republic of Ocracoke!” We’ve been going for “only” 15 years during all seasons including the run up to elections and election days. According to the Ocracoke Observer, in the 2010 Census (most recent data I can find at the moment) “almost 82 percent of Ocracoke residents are registered to vote and a big percentage of them turn out to exercise their rights. Voter statistics from the Hyde County Elections Office shows that Ocracoke has the highest number of voters in the seven precincts in the county.” If only citizens elsewhere would take their responsibility to vote with similar responsibility and respects as the salt of the earth, proud people of Ocracoke.
11
My wife and I have been visiting the Island off and on since 2000 but we' ve been going to the Outer Banks since the mid-70s after her father had a sport boat, Yellowbird IV, built on Harkers Island by Ray Davis. I wonder how many commentators in this space who are citing climate change and rising seas as cause for the full time residents of Ocracoke to pack-up and leave know that some of the best kept secrets on the Island are the amazing fig trees that grow in so many backyards here. Or that eveveryday a Union Jack is hoisted over a small plot of Island turf where British sailors, the victims of German U-boats are buried. That an afternoon bike ride down to the docks in summer can yield a bag full of fresh shrimp or croaker's for dinner. It's not just an Island, a finger of sand in the Atlantic. it's home to a unique group of individuals. With so much history on the Island how could you tell those that want to not to rebuild? We were heartbroke as we followed the news that a seven foot wall of water swept over the Island. The videos were shocking. Having experienced "Sandy" ourselves you feel a bond with those who also suffer from a devastating natural disaster. Your essay is a call for help. All we ask is what can we do?
111
My sympathies on the loss of your beautiful little island. I live in the American West and at high altitude so I'm not at risk for sea rise. But it is semi-arid and prone to drought. I wonder if (when?) we might get a drought that never ends. Will I have to flee one day? Will my home be worthless because no-one wants to live here anymore?
So I do sympathize with you knowing that I might be in a similar situation as you one day. However, you write that you don't care who your neighbors vote for which I find very disconcerting as you are being personally affected by our growing climate crisis. A climate crisis which one political party is completely ignoring.
Personally, I'm very angry at those in our society, especially the elected officials, who are obstructing action on this climate crisis.
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@the quiet one
Rebuilding a community on a barrier island averaging 5 feet above sea level, located in an area prone to hurricanes, makes no sense.
The people of Ocracoke deserve not only sympathy and aid for their immediate plight, but assistance in relocating to less exposed areas. Otherwise, the harsh fact is that government (taxpayer) subsidy of flood insurance and rebuilding will continue year after year after year.
30
@Mon Ray I do not disagree with you. And we need to vote the climate action obstructionists out of office too.
33
This is yet another story of the painful reality of climate change, which all of us humans must face, sooner or later. The saddest part of this challenge is that our government is now led by a man who stated that climate change is "a hoax by the Chinese". Climate change can be dealt with, because most of us have an innate desire to help one another. But this ignorance and denial, by our leaders, and the coldheartedness it brings, will be our downfall.
41
The reality here is the storms like this are going to happen again and again with increasing severity.
The OTHER reality is the the Trump Administration:
Does.
Not.
Care.
It is not right to leave the people of Okracoke devastated and without assistance, on their own because of who they are and where they live. But they MUST be properly relocated. They cannot be left in harm's way They refuse to face reality and stay where they are.
Reality is not pleasant or nice. The world is warming. WE--humans--have done this!
The people of Okracoke must be saved, but perhaps not on Okracoke Island. What is important about Okracoke is the people. The people can carry Okracoke in their hearts wherever they go. But the island... they may have to let it go. THAT may be what's realistic.
My heart bleeds for them... sometimes you lose your home. Sometimes you have to move.
45
During WWII, Ocracoke Island was the United States first line of defense against the Germans. Submarines sat off the coast of the Atlantic and attacked the U.S.A. American and British soldiers defended our country against these attacks from Ocracoke. There is a British cemetery on the island for those who gave their lives defending our freedoms on this island, that some of you choose to cast away.
There are generations of families that live on Ocracoke that fish for a living, that raise their children to continue a family livelihood, the same as which you choose to do in say Des Moines or Chattanooga-they know no different. For anyone to tell them to do otherwise is simply ignorance. Telling them to move when they have no where else.
Our government exists to support people in need and they are not delivering. Stand up, do something. This is not Myrtle Beach. they are asking for a leg up, Ocracokers are wonderful caring and giving.
If you knew anyone on this island, this is not easy for any of them. Day after day facing loss. Family homes that stood for almost a century - completely consumed with sea and sewage water. Imagine if your whole neighborhood was one level homes and that happened-the government turned its back on you, what would you do?
These are not”vacation homes” these are generational homes that have endured tragic loss and they need help. Thank you.
54
Where was that story I read about Don Quixote.
1
See also: The Geography of Risk: Epic Storms, Rising Seas, and the Cost if America’s Coasts by Gilbert Gaul. Reviewed in today’s Book Review section
4
These islands have been inhabited for hundreds of years. How insensitive of Mr Tornello to make such a callous statement.
Being a 7th generation Outer Banker, we are proud, hard working people who have always taken care of our own. This unprecedented flooding has destroyed our community. But I assure you, we will recover with or without your help.
We are Ocracoke Strong.
11
Aside from the disaster area declaration, what are the specific needs on the island? After Super Storm Sandy thousands of people went to the New Jersey shore to help clean and rebuild but of course all they had to do to get there was drive. I did so myself doing some very modest volunteer work, also documenting some of the damage.
Here's a link to some video from Sandy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC9524g8BUA
It seems I came down with a modest case of pneumonia in exchange for my efforts. Where I was on Long Beach Island there were hundreds of people doing the very dirty job of washing down the mold on the walls. I even saw one man emerging like a scuba diver through a window from his flooded basement. Scary.
In responding to disasters, one of the most important elements is to know details about what people need. Yes, there are people willing to volunteer and come help but, most likely, they would need to bring their own tents and food, right?
There is a hurricane news website you can log onto to send specific details in an email (I am sure there are others, too).
https://hurricanenews1.com
There are many people who would like to be of assistance but it is important to do so in the right way with the correct supplies and support.
11
Thank you for sharing your heart and grief.
Please Editors! Post where money can be sent.
Or perhaps simply send donations to the "Firemart"?
If, in only three years, the high water mark is over 2 feet higher that ever before
and since it has been steadily increasing...
and since there is plenty more glacial melt to come,
there is no turning away from that reality.
There are going to be thousands of towns the world over that are inundated with increasing severity.
Sad as it is, after help is given and your immediate needs are met, I agree with many here:
helping your beautiful village relocate on higher ground is the only answer.
For no matter how fast we, as a nation, act (and it doesn't seem like all of America is ready to face climate change and take action now) any real change will take WAY too long to save your amazing village...
Protect your selves, your grandchildren and your hearts and face a tragic new reality.
We are with you in spirit and hopefully, with funds.
9
Kelley, Ocracoke sounds like a wonderful place to live, now devastated by Dorian. While I appreciate the apolitical tone of your plea, I cannot help but draw a parallel between Paradise, California and Ocracoke. In the ashes of widespread devastation, the so-called leader of the United States of America chose not to aid those in crisis but rather to threaten to cut relief funding to purposely inflict cruelty.
Devastation could visit any of us at any time. Please continue advocating for disaster relief and if it is withheld, get political and vote them out. The next disaster victims are right around the corner. Hurricane Sandy ravaged the northeast several years ago. It still sticks in my craw that when it came time for funding disaster relief, 67 members of congress voted against the bill, some of whom were from North Carolina. It's all political.
73
I’m a fellow American, a recent resident of the OBX. What’s the best way to help residents of Ocracoke?
3
This•way•of•life is ending... let us be realistic please!
7
Just leave it the way Dorian left it.
This is just the start of global warming. In 10 years or so, that entire island will be underwater and a snorkelers' paradise.
Move.
7
Government, please help these poor people!
2
I’m sorry our government has let you down like this.
3
Heartbreaking that little paradises die...as this one must.
We are a foolish ape. We will be fewer ... holed up in bunkers of various sorts watching the fruits of our raging competitiveness and greediness and ignorance swirl around us.
Maybe we'll emerge one day if we learn to tame the swirling climate a bit and start it all over again...because as you can plainly see, we do not learn much of anything generation to generation about our basic natures and how they reliably sabotage us.
4
Relocate them and send the bill to Exxon which has lied about climate change until the seas made this island uninhabitable.
6
Kelley:
Please let me know how I can help. I can ask my church to also get involved. As a neighbor in North Carolina, we’ll try and help. We haven’t forgotten about you all. Debra Walker
6
Prepared to let an island go because of “climate change “? The same may happen to you when unexpected snow caves in your roof or a hot spell devastates your home. It’s happened before? Hey if it’s worse it must be climate change...never happened before? Oh it must be “climate change “!’n. Live with it!
And by the way how do you know it never happened? How far back have you looked? How do you think the creeks streams and mountains were shaped?!
Give me a break!
1
The president has a cold heart, you say. Now, what's the chance of that? This is North Carolina, one of his favorite red states. Oops, that's right, you mentioned up front that you have a diverse population, and that everyone isn't white. Ay, there's the rub!
9
Ask the governor and the NC legislature for help. Why write in a NY, blue state, newspaper?
5
Ask the person you voted for.
7
Help to move out, definitely. Help to rebuild, heck no.
9
As a former resident of the Outer Banks for almost 20 years, I have sat here and read the comments on this article and steadily become more and more disgusted with the things that I have read.
First, having been a homeowner in NC on the coast, if you live in a designated flood plain, you are required to carry flood insurance and I guarantee you that most everyone who calls Ocracoke home has homeowners insurance.
This article isn’t about whether those affected had insurance, it’s about the fact that the area has been forgotten when it comes to receiving disaster relief.
When Katrina came through Mississippi and Louisiana, many, including my father lost everything, but I never remember hearing the words “just relocate” to the entire population of New Orleans. I mean seriously, the French Quarter and many other parts of that city are UNDER sea level, but that’s ok.
To those of you who find it so easy to just say pack up and relocate, just for one second of your lives, put yourselves in the shoes of those affected and ask yourself what you would do if You suddenly lost Everything but the roof over your heads - pictures, family heirlooms, EVERYTHING, and when you asked for your government to extend to you the same benefits as others receive when faced with the same situation, you received nothing. And from your fellow countrymen, you hear “well sorry about your luck. You should have known better.”
You all should think about the Golden Rule before being keyboard warriors.
19
Enough already about your political views or your stance on climate change. The residents of Ocracoke are in dire need of some form of assistance and are reaching out to their fellow Americans for said assistance. Could someone in the "KNOW" please instruct the rest of us hard working and very busy Americans, with a little disposable income, how and where to send donations?
12
https://www.obcf.org/giving/disaster-relief-fund/
This goes directly to the people who need it.
3
@Richard Donations to the Outer Banks Community Foundation (rather than national disaster relief groups) is the most direct and comprehensive support right now. I’d post the link, but not sure it’s allowed on the NYT comment section. Search and you will find it. Indicate donations are for “Disaster Relief Fund: Ocracoke.” The two churches are accepting and distributing funds and there are also multiple GoFundMe accounts for specific businesses, organizations, the wonderful school and legitimate ones for families who have been there for decades. We have supported many of these. To be sure which are legit, go to the Ocracoke Current website for a September 27th post about all the ways to help, from general support to specific. We love “The Republic of Ocracoke” having spent many weeks there for more than 15 years— we were supposed to arrive two days after the hurricane but will go as soon as it is open and do our part to support the economy in person. To those who have mentioned voting, this from The Ocracoke Observer: “Almost 82 percent of Ocracoke residents are registered to vote and a big percentage of them turn out to exercise their rights ....Voter statistics from the Hyde County Elections Office shows that Ocracoke has the highest number of voters in the seven precincts in the county.” Just days after the storm islanders turned out in droves for a NC special election, walking to the precinct because hundreds of cars have been rendered inoperable.
5
Thank you so much to the author of this letter for sharing this moving story of what our neighbors in Ocracoke are enduring after the devastation of hurricane Dorian.
Anyone can contribute to the Ocracoke Disaster Relief Fund, authorized by Hyde County, Ocracoke’s local government entity, at www.obcf.org/donate.
The Outer Banks Community Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Every penny of every donation goes to Ocracoke residents impacted by the storm. No admin fee or overhead charges.
14
@Lorelei Costa, Thank You for the information!
2
@Lorelei Costa as an Inner Banks resident, let me say to those who want to help Ocracoke, this Outer Banks Community Foundation is where you want to send your money. This information is correct and we thank you for your donations.
3
People who live in the west are in the dangerous path of wild fires, and earthquakes. Desert states deplete ancient aquifers at an unsustainable rate to fill swimming pools and water golf courses, as the temperatures rise year after year. Blizzards and -60 for weeks in snow country. Floods and hurricanes in humid coastal climes. Pest and zombie plants invasions everywhere. There isn’t enough money in the United States to make everyone whole again. Not in the insurance industry and not in the coffers of the treasury. Since few places are truly “safe” maybe it’s time for Americans to become self reliant, self sustaining homesteaders again. None of us is getting bailed out in the long run so: Live within one’s means. Clean up after one’s self. Expect the power to go out and the windows to break. Expect school cancellations and no a/c. And if you are looking to FEMA and other governmental agents to help out then for heavens sake vote in competent people who understand science and facts. And when your Republican, anti vaccine, climate change, immigrant bashing neighbor is looking, suddenly, for help, send them to the back of the line and let them stew for a while.
22
Read the marks on the wall of the Village Craftsman: each is higher than the other.
This is a losing battle. Prepare to lose your charming, caring, wonderful life to global warming. This will happen first to islands like yours. One Polynesian Island has already been abandoned.
Global warming is upon us as predicted. There is nothing that can be done now.
Gather what you can and start on high ground. The water is going up 30 feet beause the Greenland Ice Shelf is melting almost 10 times faster than predicted.
Happy sailing! Bon voyage! Give thanks for the good years you had on the island. Now you have children to make life worthwhile.
10
@BSmith Each flood line sign one is higher than the one before but the dates are not consecutive. People have lived here for 300 years and they will a while yet. We contribute a huge amount of money to our county tax base the economy of NC. There is no place safe from natural disasters
6
@BSmith, though an interesting thought, those of us in NYC (33 ft above sea level) share the same challenges as our fellow Americans in Ocracoke. Climate change makes us all bedfellows.
9
I find it appalling that many use any opportunity to express their vitriolic political views. Kelley wrote a fine article. This is a wonderful place to call home and has been for four hundred years. We are ever thankful for the disaster relief groups who came and kept asking, "what else can we do for you?". Cannot imagine where we would be today without them. Thank you also to all who donate food, supplies money and provide meals. This is an example of Americans at their best.
13
Help these people relocate and rebuild their lives. And leave Ocracoke Island as what it was intended to be - an uninhabited barrier island protecting the mainland from storm surges. A nice place to visit, but no one should be living there.
193
@J. Waddell no relocating. This is home
8
I see a lot of thoughtless negative comments by people who don’t understand the way this island gets into your soul. People who’ve never visited and can heartlessly say it shouldn’t be inhabited. Y’all just don’t understand that this was a 100 year storm. Harken it to hurricane sandy, would you be as heartless? These wonderful people have survived many storms before but this by far the most devastating. They need the help of our government and the president is wrong to ignore their plight. Had it been a more populous place FEMA would have already been there. It’s a small barrier island with a rich history and amazing residents and it still deserves help. Those that can sit behind their computers and judge the validity of this cry for help as undeserving I hope you never face in your own beloved cities and towns something as devastating. While you wait for help from your government only to not be heard. I’ve spent many a summer at this beautiful place and what has happened to what I call “my happy place” is heartbreaking and it saddens and angers me that the President is ignoring their pleas.
124
@Jenna - Houston has had at least 3 - 4 when you add Imelda - 500 year storms in the past 5 years. It's not going to be another 100 years before there's a line at Village Craftsman between the lines for Matthew and Dorian. I'm not sure what the answer is, but expectations that barrier islands should be continually kept habitable in the face of rising seas because people want to live on an island is unrealistic.
159
@Jenna--Negative and thoughtless? How about realistic and honest? There are short-term and long-term issues.
There are some short-term needs that have to be addressed in terms of water, sewer and electricity. Government has role in providing this relief and it has not been forthcoming in a timely manner. The overall response has been inadequate. No one is debating this question.
What is under discussion by a number of commenters is the long-term viability of towns on barrier islands. Your self-described "happy place" is located on such an island. It is perfectly rational and reasonable to ask after a disaster, is it sensible to rebuild on these islands and if so, how before making large public and private commitments to rebuild. This debate is not about the past 300 years, but the next 300 years. It is forward-looking. Your voice is part of this discussion but so are others. The discussion has been civil and respectful.
31
@Sendero Caribe
Read all the comments. Then tell me about civility and respect. Most when I posted just said they deserved only help to relocate and shouldn’t be living there. There are more of that type since last night and it’s digressed. This morning I at least see some with a more honest understanding of the island, it’s people and their way of life. I’m not here for a political debate nor one on climate change. They deserve government help and they are being overlooked.
13
The right answer is to offer assistance to the folks on Ocracoke, this time only. Sensible people will take that assistance and relocate, but people get to make their own choices. After that, no assistance, no federal flood insurance, no nothing. Canada has a solid approach to such problems, and we need a sensible plan along those lines for this country.
Ocracoke is fundamentally different from the threat of earthquake to San Francisco or St Louis. This is going to happen repeatedly to Ocracoke within a limited number of months or years, and with increasing frequency. I'll believe the place is wonderful for the rest of the year and it really grabs some people, but that is unfortunately irrelevant.
A quarter of the human race lives in areas that, relatively soon, will run short of fresh water. That includes much of southern California and Mexico, millions of people. If you think migrations (relocations) are a problem now, just wait.
74
@Pete Mso if your house burned down you’re saying you would take the money and relocate?
3
Seriously?!!
No signed declaration of disaster yet?
Ah, but twisting arms in the Ukraine is far more important to our nation...err, to Trump's fixing the 2020 election in his favor.
We got to have our priorities, don't you see?
Frankly, the Ukraine scandal and cover-up is grounds for impeachment, but the serial manipulation of the public good and resources in the desperate hope this dangerous fool of a man has to somehow save his political project is even starker grounds for disgrace and removal.
Disaster relief is a fundamental duty and responsibility of the office of the president. This is an inexcusable FAIL. It's certainly even better grounds for impeachment than his corrupt foreign mafia-boss chicanery.
That the North Carolina congressional delegation as a body, mostly Republicans and maybe a few Democrats, hasn't stood up at a press conference united to call for the immediate declaration of a disaster baffles me. I can understand the Dems not wanting to look like they're making a partisan attack in this time of great need for Ocracoke Island. But the Republicans? Seriously, is their political need to shield presidential incompetence and malfeasance more important than helping their constituents in time of need?
Shame.
They should be impeached, too.
This is an outrage of truly disastrous scope.
Shame, shame, shame.
And time to seek change. No American deserves this kind of foul and criminal neglect of their needs.
19
How can we help? Where can we send money?
7
@Christine Donations to the Outer Banks Community Foundation (rather than national disaster relief groups) is the most direct and comprehensive support right now. Search and you will find it. Indicate donations are for “Disaster Relief Fund: Ocracoke.” For more information and to be sure which other options are legit, go to the Ocracoke Current website for a September 27th post about all the ways to help, from general support to specific.
1
Barrier Islands and shoreline homes were the homes of the poorest populations until insurance came along.
Many of these properties were gained by squatting in the past. We have the same shoreline problem as you.
Living on these islands permanently is a fools errand.
They move they change and the wind and water scour out man made structural elements.
7
What can we due to help your island (other than convince the Trump Administration to do the right thing...that rock is too big to push up the hill)? Can we visit to help you clean out your homes and businesses? Can we volunteer a few days using any special craft skills that we may have? Do you need someone to organize and schedule your volunteers?
If, so why don't you publicize an email address where you could be contacted by volunteers. Just let us know!!
4
@Terri Go to the Ocracoke Current website for a September 27th post about all the ways to help, from general support to specific.
4
A remarkable article.
2
If you have ever visited Ocracoke, you know the Island just gets into your blood. I can only imagine living there as an Islander. If you have not been so lucky, then you do not understand why this woman is begging for the help the island needs so desperately.
There is no way you can displace these people. They are part of the island and will not survive in another location.
Any person who reads this and can donate anything to these people, please do so.
10
As someone who travels the world and has been on many islands that reach only a few feet above sea level, I have yet to see a single piece of true evidence of ‘sea level rise’. The folks calling for relocation in the face of this writer’s pain are oblivious and cruel.
2
@Robert Zimmerman
Tourists typipcally do not visit low lying islands during time of high water.
Assuming that your own experiene to date reflects that of the world is a common Republican symptom of science-denial.
I highly recommend Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle as another travelers observation. He only made one trip outside of England, his native land, but his trip around the world took 5 years in 1835, and he wrote a detailed journal - the Voyage of the Beagle.
His space on the small (about 40 feet long) boat was very limited - to only 2 feet of shelf space. The books he took were the Geographies of North and South America by Alexander von Humbolt (e.g. Humbolt Current...) and another one which slips my mind.
Anyhow, enjoy the Voyage of the Beagle - especially on line where it is free and you can find Charles' original illustrations (his greatest sadness was that he "could not" draw).
3
Seawall. Seawall. Seawall.
Look at the Dutch, they know.
Seawall. That is the first thing to do.
1
It would be helpful to add a link to an agency that can provide emergency assistance.
5
@Robin. Google Ocracoke Methodist church foundation. Outer banks community disaster foundation. Plenty more. Or just search Ocracoke on Facebook. I was a full time resident there for 5 years. These people are not just my friends, they are my family
2
@Robin Go to the Outer Banks Community Foundation site, specifying Disaster Relief Fund:Ocracoke. For more information and to be sure which other options are legit, go to the Ocracoke Current website for a September 27th post about all the ways to help, from general support to specific. I’m not sure the NYT allows link posting ...
2
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin!”(Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida)
People will come together to help in an emergency. But people that live near the water must also “provide” help for themselves in preparation for disaster.
I live on an inlet from the Atlantic on Long Island. Hurricane Sandy came through and I was out of my house for 5 months. But I had FEMA flood insurance which I paid every year for decades. Those premiums added up to a tidy sum over the years. Flood insurance didn’t cover everything but it went a long way in helping me restore my house.
Did the people on your barrier Island have Federal Floor Insurance? If not, why not? I know people around my way who didn’t have insurance want the government to rebuild them. If they do that, I want 35 years of my floor insurance premiums refunded!!
I’m sorry for the people hurt by the storm. But if they didn’t prepare KNOWING that hurricanes are COMMON in North Carolina, my sadness for them is somewhat diminished.
5
"On Saturday, Sept. 21, eight days after the request was sent to the president, our newly sworn-in congressman, Greg Murphy, came to the island and announced that President Trump had just signed the FEMA declaration. Our state senator, Bob Steinburg, posted on his social media accounts that same hour that the president had signed the document. Those social media posts have now been deleted."
(and then)"Under a mulberry tree, the governor told me that the news from Senator Steinburg and Congressman Murphy was untrue. The declarations of disaster had not been signed by the president."
Seems like the lies and liars are multiplying in all levels of government. Just tell the truth - while it may hurt temporarily, deception reopens the wound and pour salt back in it - lies should not be part of making anything, anyone or anyplace 'great again.'
4
Mr. Trump asked our Senator Tillis (R) to send him the emergency request, when the appropriate person to send that request is the governor of the state, not a senator. This was a snub for our Governor, who is a democrat. When Governor Cooper sent the request, he was again snubbed. Trump makes clear that he only has ears for certain republicans who support his wall, as Tillis is doing. He is totally uncaring of the suffering he is causing.
18
Sad to say that Republicans told you what you wanted to hear and the Democratic Governor told you what you didn't want to hear. And you know which was the lie and which was the truth. I love North Carolina, lived there for a while, but hate what Republicans have done to that state.
We are part-time Abaconians and were lucky to have only superficial damage, but we know / knew Marsh Harbour very well. People are working hard there, Abaconians, volunteers, relief agencies and friends connected from abroad. People have volunteered to transport food, fuel, generators, and potable water all over the island. They've found transport of all sorts to get the sick and elderly off. Good friends who are ill were ferried first to Cherokee Sound, then the Spanish Wells (on Eleuthra) then flew to Nassau and then to family in Florida, all without government help.
There's even massive rescue efforts for cats and dogs, even the stray "potcakes" (as mixed breeds are called there).
Sadly, the Bahamian government's main contributions have been inaction, the wrong actions, and red tape. I'm sure PM Minnis is well-intentioned but has been ineffective. Today, the first community got back power, a full 4 weeks after it was turned off in front of Dorian. But they've thrown up mostly road-blocks, have not really patrolled the looting.
Most Abaconians still there are like your Ocracoke neighbors, but too many are not. And when government doesn't help, it's hard to recover.
4
The hard-heartedness of most of the commenters here makes me ashamed to be an American. These responses are NOT the way Americans help each other.
I dare any of you to say what you've written about Ocracoke's residents, to their FACES. Can so many of you really look at this situation and say "Hey, get lost, you don't count and you don't matter"?
While you're blathering about how these residents should all just pick up & move away from their homes, you're ignoring the fact that Donald Trump refuses to commit tax money to help these residents. I wonder how many of you would cheerfully just up sticks and move elsewhere if your home were inundated?
I won't let Trump off the hook for one second. These people are our fellow-citizens, and they need and deserve our help now.
Too bad Ocracoke doesn't need an anti-immigration-wall, b/c Trump would have quickly signed off on THAT. Or if Ocracoke had potential for a nice golf course, Trump would be all over it like bees on honey - and he'd have no trouble using public money to help! He might even use eminent domain to get control of the place.
Meanwhile, if there's a specific way we can contribute to help, I hope it will be spelled out here, so that those of us who haven't lost our hearts to cynicism can do what we're able to do.
10
@L The Outer Banks Community Foundation “Disaster Relief Fund: Ocracoke.” More information and which other options are legit, see the Ocracoke Current website for a September 27th post about all the ways to help, from general support to specific.
2
I live in Upstate NY. We have few natural disasters here. Some bad thunderstorms with wind and hail, rare tornadoes and, most often, snow that complicates life.
Our disaster is economic. Our economy is hollowed out. Young people are leaving. There are few good jobs. Dairy farming, which used to sustain charming communities, has changed so much that some will soon be ghost towns if trends continue.
Trump came to visit during the 2016 campaign and told us to leave. Because of that I'm more sympathetic to the Ocracoke residents who have strong emotional and economic ties to their community than I might otherwise be. I know what it feels like to see something you value deteriorate.
The prevailing view seems to be that the market will and should decide. If things like hurricanes or the decline of farming affect you, just move on.
It's one thing to talk about the stupidity of building McMansions on the beach. It's another thing to look at ordinary people who have been hurt by events beyond their control and say, "You fix it." That seems like a cop-out to me, but it has become the mantra of choice for a lot of voters.
7
Thank you NYT for printing this. An eloquent voice for community, for the support of all kinds (including many living with various disabilities) in a strong “village.”
Surely the point here is that dire need is being overlooked when something as straightforward as a disaster declaration is not being signed because everyone in the Whitehouse is so distracted disorganized or whatever that basic government business can’t be done.
I’m sure the good folks on barrier islands soon to be underwater know more about the changing climate that most of us. And I hope an inland community is starting up that folks can start planning for as those who won’t be there lol their lives need a new place. Tell us the next chapter when it comes!
1
Here in Tacloban City we were hit by the strongest hurricane, Yolanda, that ever made landfall. I have a U.S. pension here so I'm better off than most Filipinos but I learned an important lesson about equality after the hurricane. I thought I would go out to the mall and draw some money out of the ATM. We had to step over the dead to get there and found the mall under water with the ATM machine ripped out of the wall. I was just as poor as every one else. The ATMs were gone for a year.
A man walked by with a two kilo sack of brown rice that he had just looted. I offered to buy it a double the price. He gave me a weird look as if to say "Can you eat money, Bub." I went out looting food with my brother in law and came up with five boxes of Fruit Loops which were to sustain me for two weeks. They were awful, I wouldn't feed Fruit Loops to a rat.
3
Yes, but how many will go right back, despite future risk.
The most "help" needed—worldwide—is in shantytowns at high risk of devastation and where the inhabitants have few options.
1
@srwdm there is no “going back” when they never left. This is their home. And some families have been there for more then 100 years. This is their home. Not their resort. Trust me. It was my home for 5 years as well
1
If you can’t buy affordable homeowners insurance where you live, perhaps it’s because you shouldn’t live there.
8
Attachment to one’s home or a tight-knit community is as powerful as family and I sympathize, but I suggest you read the attached NYTs story from just the other day . Continuing to rebuild in these vulnerable coastal areas is a mistake. We need to help people like yourself and your neighbors relocate instead. You mention being devastated by a 7 foot surge. I lived in South Florida during Hurricane Andrew. The storm surge at the center of the storm was 22 feet. ,https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/27/climate/mortgage-climate-risk.html
4
Get those people out of there but do not rebuild. It’s over.
5
As many say in FL, living on a barrier island is crazy and should be prohibited.
1
It’s easy to lash out at those who choose to live on a remote island In North Carolina, but please read “The Geography of Risk: Epic Storms, Rising Seas, and the Cost of America’s Coasts” by Gilbert M. Gaul. You’ll discover that we taxpayers have been replenishing beaches and rebuilding vacation homes on the barrier islands in New Jersey. Apparently, the affluent are more adept at seeking funds. Pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps translates to moving elsewhere for Okracokers though.
7
I hope the residents of Ocracoke Island (and every other American citizen) will remember who lied to them, and who failed the governments’ responsibility to declare an emergency when November 2020 arrives.
4
Okracoke is a lovely, unique and wonderful place. We have visited many times and it is truly a national treasure. I can’t believe you are not getting disaster relief. It is a no-brainer. When the hurricane made a right turn off the Florida coast I immediately thought Okracoke was in trouble. The country needs to step up to the plate and help. Is there a local contact...church, organization to send donations?
25
@Davewv The Outer Banks Community Foundation, indicate donations are for “Disaster Relief Fund: Ocracoke.” For more information and to be sure which other options are legit, go to the Ocracoke Current website for a September 27th post about all the ways to help. I’m not sure the NYT allows link posting, these sites are easy to find.
7
I was deeply touched by this article and while I wasn’t sure what I could do, I decided to send letters to each of the government officials referenced, urging them to start taking their elected positions more seriously and do the jobs they were voted in to do.
8
@Leyna I am taking your lead and doing the same, as well as a barrage of Tweets and emails and Facebook messages to the News outlets, the President, and my own state legislators. After all we are neighbors North Carolina
3
A very touching article.The plight of these islanders is severe and to be acknowledged and respected. But, with all due respect, you may not “care” who your residents vote for, but you should.
As FEMA and other federally funded programs are progressively defunded, as infrastructure is neglected, as climate change is denied (even its escalating effects are borne by many of our citizens and paid for by all of us through our taxes),and as incompetence rules the White House, you should care who your neighbors vote for.
The rest of us do.We’re all asked to pay for disaster relief programs for our fellow Americans. We are more than happy to do so,not just because this is our country and we are a community,but because one day we will need help or our children will, or our neighbors.
But we hear pleas (heartfelt and sincere) from many who vote for people whose policies not only hurt them, but also hurt us.
When it’s sunny,many vote for those who say “we don’t need to fix the hole in the roof, it’s sunny” but when the storm comes and their house floods,they then expect the infrastructure and funding to exist to help them.
We should help those devastated by disasters,but the most impactful help is to fix the hole in the roof on a sunny day.Don’t vote for those who denigrate and mock our collective safeguards that protect us.Vote for those who will not only fund relief efforts when your house floods, but will also fund a carpenter on a sunny day to fix the roof.
10
Ocracoke is a place that can only be understood if it’s been experienced, much like the joy of becoming a parent. For those of you that think the island should be abandoned, I ask if you could survive in your current community with zero help from outside of your city limits. If you’re authentic in your response, the answer is no. Only GOD knows what our climate will give us in the future. We humans are not going to determine how it goes.
8
@John well said. Thank you for my exact thoughts from another Virginian
2
Ocracoke is home! I don’t live there as I have no land there and have not been able to afford to return. Many call it a barrier island, but it is a home. Yes, there is climate change, but that did not cause the island to flooding in the late 1800’s and again in the 1940’s. During those times Ocracoke and Portsmouth were important shipping and fishing villages.
So, Ocracoke should stay proud. They are rebuilding as they did in the past. Those who purchased insurance may recover faster than some others who did not. Those people without may change priorities in the future. I do not and never have depended on the government. Traditionally the islanders did not. Hard work was the past remedy.
Don’t blame the climate. Don’t blame the government. Ocracoke is special because of the strength of the natives. No assistance will replace this. It is needed, yes, but I don’t see the natives leaving if it is not received. There is no place that can replace home.
2
To ALL the ones saying move us away from our home of many generations is This what you tell the WHOLE state of California to do because of wildfires, earthquakes and mudslides or the ones in the Midwest because of tornados?
Home is home and WE will rebuild and come back stronger than before because that's what we do with or without any gov't help!
11
@Candy I am so proud of this comment, of your heart in the words. I am ashamed to say that I did not realize the impact of this horrible hurricane on your beautiful special island. I am also ashamed and embarrassed for the US GOVT to have ignored your plight. I am writing emails and Tweets and Facebook messages to anyone that I can think of who may raise a hand and make a difference. Stay as strong as you can and know that this Virginia neighbor is waving back. With love
3
I think I may understand the heartache that this destruction causes, the destruction of history and memories.
This is the result of hubris and totally expected. . Hurricanes are only becoming stronger and more destructive – a consequence of global warming.
How many times must the area be flooded and destroyed before the residents accept the fact that rebuilding is only a temporary fix, a stopgap until the next hurricane unleashes even more destruction.
They are called barrier islands for a reason. They protect the mainland, lessen the effect of the storm surges. Building there was a mistake. But they did not understand then. Now we certainly understand the consequences of building on the barrier reefs,
Offer the residents a buyout. Anyone who wants to fix their property would be free to using the insurance money [and not federal/state funds. The federal/state/local government should not insure any remaining property or cover any losses. The cost of insurance will be unaffordable.
We will only have possibly more destructive hurricanes.
Convert the islands to national parks with minimal structures.
11
A well written piece, enjoyable to read. Good luck to the islanders recovering.
6
@Kai Tooie “enjoyable”?
1
Ms. Shinn - You mentioned that you are inundated with workers helping clean up. Yet you say you all need help. What can we do to help. Name it.
Yes there is nostalgia at play for me. I fell in love there fifty years ago.
11
@Kokopelli Outer Banks Community Foundation, indicate “Disaster Relief Fund: Ocracoke.” To be sure which other options are legit, the Ocracoke Current website has a September 27th post about all the ways to help. I’m not sure the NYT allows link posting.
This is terribly sad, but not unforeseen. The Outer Banks and Ocracoke will be victims of climate change, it's just a question of when. The government they consistently elect denies the problem. And their President is too busy Tweeting petty, mean stuff to have organized, federal agencies. Ocracoke is merely an example of what's coming down the pike for the whole country.
17
Perfectly written perspective of this disaster. Am sharing and hope more will know.
9
This is the reality of climate change. This community isn’t the first to be swallowed by an ocean and won’t be the last. It’s time to move to higher ground and use any FEMA money for renewable energy sources
19
Kelley- people care and want to help. I love Ocracoke Island and all you give, year after year, to visitors and vacationers. You don't just sell stuff to them, you generously share the island with them.
To those who are sitting at their computer screen, hundreds of miles away from Ocracoke and blaming the victims of this tragedy, where's your compassion? Could you save your judgment on families and hundreds of children who live on this island who are homeless right now? Could you tune in to the kids who lost their school? NOW is the time to help and encourage, not judge.
23
@Lisa
We remember all the Republicans who voted against Sandy relief. Whether your own Republican did or not is besides the point.
Go ask your Republican state legislature for aid, that spit of barrier island is not worth rebuilding, but NY and PR are/were, and the GOP stood and stands in the way.
No sympathy here anymore for any Republican district. What goes around comes around.
3
assistance for relocation? yes.
assistance for rebuilding? no.
climate change is real. it is happening.
spend more time thinking about how to prevent it from getting worse and less time on nostalgia.
42
I am disappointed with commenters not emphasizing the immediate needs of the families who live on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. These families are like most of us who work and live in our great country, raising our children with hopes for their education and future opportunities. The hard, disgusting fact is that our current government in D.C. has delayed without reason making emergency funds available that will provide shelter, safety, and health care immediately. Our wonderful islanders are greatly struggling now. Our North Carolina U.S. Senators and Representatives have been entirely AWOL from the start. What moral compass do these elected people follow?
41
@NTNS. Is there a reason the state can’t help?
1
@NTNS
Moral compass?
None.
2
I am disappointed with commenters not emphasizing the immediate needs of the families who live on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. These families are like most of us who work and live in our great country, raising our children with hopes for their education and future opportunities. The hard, disgusting fact is that our current government in D.C. has delayed without reason making emergency funds available that will provide shelter, safety, and health care immediately. Our wonderful islanders are greatly struggling now. Our North Carolina U.S. Senators and Representatives have been entirely AWOL from the start. What moral compass do these elected people follow?
5
Ocracoke is one of my favorite place on earth and I have so many memories of the days I spent on the island in the past. To get to the island we took the ferry from Swan Quarter or from Cedar Island. Once we sailed from Oriental.
I know the charm of this island, the beauty of the ocean and the beaches.
But it's time to let it go.
There is no future for the outer banks.
27
@Antonella
It is with great sadness to learn of the devastation of Ocracoke and the desperation of its inhabitants. All of us must address climate change privately, not to contribute to it as well as confronting our representatives to act. We must help people living in places that cannot avoid the destruction of climate change. Many beautiful areas, towns, cities, bodies of water and wildlife are being destroyed by it. We must cooperate and save what we can of the planet. Please come back Kelly Shinn to tell us the best way to donate our money and service. Where will you go?
14
@F. McB I am going to attach an article that has one of the places you can donate to: https://islandfreepress.org/outer-banks-news/donation-distributions-for-ocracoke-to-be-available-soon/
Ocracoke and the Outer Banks are such a wonderful place and I appreciate you wanting to help, I'm so disappointed in how many commenters just want to pull the Islanders from their home. We need to battle climate change and not just give into it.
2
Rebuilding a community on a barrier island averaging 5 feet above sea level, located in an area prone to hurricanes, makes no sense.
The people of Ocracoke deserve not only sympathy and aid for their immediate plight, but assistance in relocating to less exposed areas. Otherwise, the harsh fact is that government (taxpayer) subsidy of flood insurance and rebuilding will continue year after year after year.
62
That’s a very bitter pill to swallow, but it’s a realistic truth.
3
Okracoke Island is one of my favorite places in the world. It is not just the natural beauty, which is stunning, but also the community design and friendliness of the locals who live there that make it a special place to visit, any time of the year. It pains me to echo some of the comments here: it is time to make a plan to leave. Climate change will make devastating storm surges more and more common, meaning that FEMA relief will only temporarily solve the community problems... until the next storm. Making a plan to leave does not mean leaving now, or even this year. It will take a decade or more to move threatened coastal communities. Leaving also does not mean never returning. Cape Lookout (uninhabited) is another favorite place of mine. It is time for communities to have the political, financial and social support to make the move to less threatened areas. It will be sad, difficult and financially damaging. But it is better to begin the process now, with local, regional and federal support, before it is really too late.
46
A beautifully written piece on what sounds like a solid community. I do believe government assistance should be given, but to help with relocation, not rebuilding. I realize that would be heart-wrenching for the islanders, but the reality we have gotten ourselves into is that living there is no longer tenable.
68
I live in overcrowded, too urbanized Southern California. My neighbors are like yours, the same goodness and maybe another form of beauty. I do envy the beauty that you have had and now is being threatened. It does sound like our Government is going to leave you to your own devices and provide no assistance, in spite of everyone on the island paying taxes faithfully over the years.
Should you be helped to rebuild this fragile infrastructure? I don’t know. I assume there are higher parts of the island than where you are, and not all of the island was inundated. My suggestion would be for the time being, everyone build higher, watch how the next few years play out, how water levels go. Use those years to figure out if this is a safe place to be, to continue inhabiting. And, by all means, get your Chamber of Commerce to market the island, increase tourism and get more people to appreciate you. Only with enough voter support will you get the help you need. And I’m very sorry that a unique library has been lost. I’m sure it held some wonderful island history.
In the next few years, we are going to have to rethink how we live with climate change and how we help each other. Should we help the very wealthy when they loose their beach houses? Should we help fragile ecosystems where people pretty much live hand to mouth and can’t afford to save their beloved lands. And what about the very wealthy that want taxpayers to bail out their businesses?
25
Unfortunately there are not higher parts of the island. It is very small, was connected by ferries and has a rich history for several hundred years. It was always a “survival” type of place. It is already a tourist/National Park spot that many others have enjoyed. My family has visited off and on for nearly 50 years. Camping when the kids were little, enjoying the stories and hospitality of the island.
I am saddened that sustainability seems unlikely in the long term, but immediate relief is another problem. Trying to move and find another way to make a living when even the land has “no value” will not be an easy task.
Politics unfortunately does play a part, but I doubt everyone’s a republican and no-one deserve the attitude so many are expressing “that they made their own bed” so to speak.
10
I have been to Okracoke many times. It's always been a lovely and friendly place, charming to walk around and grab a good meal. Climate change is going to take it away. Along with other coastal islands, towns and cities along coast all the way down to Key West. The cost of saving them all is not something I think future generations can afford. What can we do?
31
I’ve never been in eastern/coastal North Carolina, yet now I certainly know why there is a famous “Cape Fear.”
.
Is nothing covered by insurance?
I presume the answer is sadly negative, because the
insurers probably avoid barrier islands.
As I read the comments, I think about trucks
filled with “everything,” while the later report
debunks rumor of FEMA help, so far.
The Red Cross and schools/churches are probably
doing whatever they can.
It sounds to me desperate, and surely inland civic organizations are filling tractor trailers.
I keep imagining convoys of stuff, and wishing it were
fact.
3
I hope the entire community finds a place to re-locate to, together. It sounds like a beautiful community, but, now, alas, in a bad location.
36
I am saddened by the loss of your home and your community, but it makes no sense to rebuild in areas where 100 years storms are occurring multiple times a decade and will continue to do so and worse going forward. Barrier islands are meant to be just what the name implies.
The people of North Carolina have voted for an overwhelmingly Republican legislature who could not care about what is happening to the climate, in fact anything beyond low taxes, less regulation and being anti-choice. You see, despite what you said, it does matter who you vote for. It matters a lot and you are seeing the consequences first hand.
146
"The people of North Carolina have voted for an overwhelmingly Republican legislature".... You obviously have not been following the court cases involving the rampant gerrymandering in NC (sprinkle in some voter suppression laws for good measure). We're a state where the legislature picks their voters not the other way around.
15
This story is hard to read both because I sympathize with the terrible experience you've had but also because I'm not sympathetic to your plea for financial help. You live in an area that does not have a substantial population and/or an industrial purpose where the Federal government should be providing more than just life or death assistance. On the other hand, we had an important American territory with a large population and important industrial purposes, including many pharma plants, that was struck by a devastating storm and was not helped. This was Puerto Rico, in case you didn't know from my description. So your plea for assistance is really ringing hollow
30
Emergency funds were re- directed to Trump’s Border Wall. It’s time voters realize that Trump is a fraud. He has no interest in providing relief. Sadly, the coastal regions around the world will disappear in the next few decades. It’s time to accept reality and move. I remember this lovely area from the 1970’s - but here is no going back so plan for the future.
84
Ocracoke is wonderful and lovely. It also little more than a spit of sand, and that's all it ever was. Call me callous, but I have hardened myself to the reality that Ocracoke is essentially doomed in the next century. I turn my attention to other island nations where millions rather than hundreds of people are in desperate need. Look south to Haiti with your charity.
29
It's easy to say this is no time for politics. But American citizens in desperate need of assistance and not receiving it...that IS politics. If you think the scientists have it wrong and current weather is a fluke, that's not science, that's politics.
These are not millionaire movie stars living in a fire-prone canyon, and they need help, not denial. Maybe, if Gore had been elected, instead of ridiculed for inventing the internet, we would at least have a plan in place.
65
@JR
Maybe Elizabeth Warren does have a plan for that. It's a big complicated challenge and won't be easy to address the traumas of climate change forcing people to change their lives.
Yes, we missed the boat when Al Gore was defeated. We jumped into the raging river, metaphorically, when Trump won.
Failing to recognize that tragic consequences loom, not just here in the US, but around the world, as climate change accelerates, is a monumental mistake. It's not just a question of how to slow the changes; it's also the urgent need to craft responses that will protect the lives and livelihood of human beings who suffer.
12
I am deeply sorry for the loss of your community. I understand a little of what you are experiencing.
I live in a city that was flattened by a catastrophic EF5 multiple vortex tornado a few years ago. It was devastating. I drive down streets and look at the trees which are still merely stubs.
Trees have been planted and houses have been rebuilt but nothing will ever be the same. Now should it be.
Our planet is suffering and the weather reflects that suffering.
We are just a cinder in the eye of Mother Earth and she will rid herself of us.
We have proven unworthy of her. I hope new generations can correct our disastrous mistakes and live in harmony with her but it may be too late even now. I have adult children and small grandchildren who have a lot of living to do, and I fervently hope they get a chance to do it. I am 66 and my generation has failed miserably so far.
Climate change has terrible consequences for every person on earth. In your case, your beloved home has become uninhabitable. My city nearly became one big pile of unrecognizable debris.
I don't have an answer for you but I deeply sympathize with you.
72
There will be more and more situations like this as the planet warms. How we, as a world family, choose to deal with this, will be survival versus death...cooperation or conflict?
29
Where should donations be sent?
I can’t understand why a federal disaster designation hasn’t been signed: NC is a swing state.
57
They elected a Democrat as governor and immediately the north carolina legislature changed the state constitution to take away as much power from the governor as they could. Now the people must be punished for having the audacity to not vote in a republican. If people still haven't figured out what the GOP is all about and keep electing them, then they truly ARE the government that Americans deserve.
99
They elected a Democrat as governor and immediately the north carolina legislature changed the state constitution to take away as much power from the governor as they could. Now the people must be punished for having the audacity to not vote in a republican. If people still haven't figured out what the GOP is all about and keep electing them, then they truly ARE the government that Americans deserve.
6
@ANetliner
Trump's too focused on his great wall and on Ukraine to worry about ordinary citizens.
3
Initially I agreed with the majority of comments that advised not to rebuild, but to move. It makes sense. However, realize that Ocracoke is not just for the people that live there. Thousands of people enjoy this amazing place every year. It is exquisitely beautiful. It is fun. It has value as a tourist site. If we need to rebuild it every 50 years, OK, it is worth it. That said, the folks and businesses that live there should have flood insurance to reflect the actual risk. That cost can be defrayed by people (like me) who visit and pay a fee on restaurants, inns, etc. It just seems like a math problem. Maybe there are some insurance people out there that can explain what I am missing.
37
@blockislandhead Make it a seasonal vacation spot, with entirely portable (or essentially disposable, expendable) accommodations. It's basic risk assessment--and the risk MANAGEMENT that proceeds from that is to cease expecting to live permanently on that little ridge. It's a jolt to the current residents, and they should get relocation assistance, both from federal and state sources. But the climatic changes that we're experiencing say loud and clear: "proceed at your own risk," and if you choose to continue as a wonderful, tight-knit community, prepare for and financially reserve for the next inundation--as mentioned, the average elevation of that sand spit is 5 feet above nominal sea level, and that's just going to be sluiced away. I am sorry for their plight, but there is a world of unmet need. I wish them success in getting appropriate aid.
13
Thank you for this insight: "The sea taketh and the sea giveth back."
I appreciate your eloquent words, but ....
None of us are guaranteed prosperity. We are not even guaranteed life. We all die, often at a young age.
Count your blessings. You have survived this long in a beautiful place at obvious environmental risk.
None of us are entitled to survival. We choose by the wisdom of our hearts and work with the consequences.
I hope you will stay in touch and challenge us to care again.
18
While this barrier island should receive the needed assistance there should also be long-term planning for climate change. Sea levels are predicted to rise up to 6 feet this century and any planning should be based on that possibility. Retreat from the island should be strongly considered since this barrier island is only 5 feet above sea level. And the sea level will continue to rise for centuries afterward suggesting that the sea level could be much higher in the more distant future.
49
SOMETIMES IN GREAT DISASTER AND GREAT NEED HUMAN BEINGS CAN BECOME THE BEST OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN AND THAT IS SO AMAZING IT IS ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE. BUT--IN FACT THAT IS TRUE. I HAVE BEEN THERE TOO.
7
I'm truly sorry, but given our lax attitude toward climate change their is only one logical-painful option that makes any sense. Leave this beautiful place, live well above sea level, and visit when you can.
82
There's nothing like losing your home. What a horrifying trauma you are going through.
With deepest sympathy, and all due respect, this is a situation where relocation is the answer. We have ravaged the planet and now paying the price. You cannot win against mother nature. The seas will continue rising for the rest of our lifetimes and storms will continue to be more extreme.
Yes, you all should receive assistance. However it should be assistance in relocating, not re-building. Our society cannot afford to help everyone who is flooded out rebuild over and over on our most vulnerable shores and islands.
154
There's a time to talk about the future and rebuilding but right now the author is describing a tragedy where people need help now and the Federal Government is not providing it. Write your congressman and senators, especially if you live in NC.
106
Ms. Shinn - to whom do we donate? What is the most effective way to help?
22
@Fen Yes please I am wanting to donate regardless of those who say leaving is the only rational answer. Leaving a loci is a personal decision made with the heart.
8
@Fen
https://www.obcf.org/donate-now/ The Outer Banks Community Foundation, designate Ocracoke.
2
https://www.obcf.org/ The Outer Banks Community Foundation is a most effective and reliable community support. They are collecting money which is then being used to help Ocracoke come back. Also Ocracoke Disaster Relief created a Facebook page, which people are encouraged to check in on to stay up to date with accurate information that actually comes from our team.
1
I suspect everyone on the board agree that we as a nation should do something to help these people. The question is what?
Restoration of electricity, water and sewer is a minimum. Additionally funds to assist with the clean up of debris.
These islands are the first line of defense or a barrier against the sea. Inhabitants and settlements have always been at risk. Climate change just adds to these.
The land needs to be repurposed. Something akin to Island Beach State Park seems appropriate Leave the sands and grasses to protect the mainland and assist the population to relocate. This transition can be a model for other communities.
53
@Sendero Caribe Ohio does this. When a storm devastates a wet land or shoreline, they buy out the owners and appropriate the land for temporary use such as state park development.
6
Perhaps best lesson is for people to not live on Okacroke, whether abled or disabled. Common sense says move inland. How many times have those roads been rebuilt?
57
@Richard Sammon people who make their living from the sea generally live close to shore - these are not wealthy people. They need docks and infrastructure to run their businesses.
23
@Richard Sammon It's Ocracoke Island not Okacroke... And should most definitely be rebuilt.
2
At what point do we offer help to relocate rather than rebuild?
80
@Hope How about no offer at all? People who lose their home because a storm dropped a tree on the house don't get any federal aid. Yet that's far less predictable than flooding on an island where over a dozen storms have done major damage over the past 50 years.
17
@Hope
Now: we can't continuously rebuild areas that will be wiped out every couple of years.
2
I mourn the loss of your lovely island home, its heritage, its community. But it is time--or more accurately, long past time--to stop rebuilding in the most vulnerable places. The purpose of a barrier island is to absorb the worst of what the ocean can inflict, and lessen its impact on the mainland. Nobody should be building a home five feet above sea level at someone else's expense.
180
Help. Then require no rebuilding. We have devastated the planet and there are consequences to that.
68
This a painfully tragic story of a small community living on the edge. But it's a microcosm of what will surely happen in the coming decades as Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and other coastal states are impacted. How can we afford to bail them all out? And yet, if we are truly human, how can we not try?
42
@Russell Long
Eventually millions of people in the coastal USA will have no choice. How can we best be kind to them?
3
It's a barrier island.
Houses do not belong on these places unless you yourself can afford to keep your place afloat come what may.
Puerto Rico and the other real islands needs help more than this.
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@Rick Tornello After a disaster like this everyone needs help. What happens in the long run is a different question, but in the immediate disaster help needs to be given where help is needed. And it certainly shouldn't be either/or in a country as wealthy as the United States.
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@Rick Tornello
I agree with both you and Iox. Folks here did not order up climate change, but neither is an island five feet above sea level sustainable. Let's bail/buy them out this time and if someone wants to build a summer hut, or bring a tent for a vacation, this is the perfect place. Sadly, we can't turn back time.
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@Rick Tornello
There are too many places in the U.S. that are at risk in one way or another to evacuate everyone to "completely safe" places.
St. Louis, for instance. Out here in the middle of the country. Tornadoes have done tremendous damage in and around this city. And in the early 1800's, a giant earthquake hit this area. When (not if, but when) another big one strikes, the damage in this region will be very serious.
We, too, have a problem with people and businesses taking excessive risks -- like the real estate developers who rushed in to build up the flood plain after the Great Flood of 1993. But even without all of that, this part of the country isn't completely safe. Nowhere is.
So please don't give the barrier island folks too hard of a time. The next disaster could be on your own doorstep.
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