Nor’easter left messes and challenges for N.C.

SOUTH NAGS HEAD

With the Atlantic Ocean now swirling under their cockeyed pilings, 28 resort cottages have lost the battle with the sea since last month's nor'easter.

In their heyday, each was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars; now they're scorned as sources of debris. With decks swaying in the wind, foundations pounded into pieces, and septic tanks rendered useless chunks of concrete, storm damage has temporarily made the beach a hazard zone.

According to the nuisance notices issued by the town of Nags Head in late November, these houses will be demolished unless they're moved - and fast.

"Every time even a small nor'easter comes through, more debris ends up on the beach," said Dave Clark, the town's public works director.

The November storm appears to have struck a fatal blow to many of the town's most vulnerable oceanfront structures. South Nags Head lost as much as 70 feet of beach in some places, Clark said, totaling about $10 million worth of sand. By month's end, he said, the town had removed about 80 tons of storm debris - and there's still some there.

Houses on the oceanfront off Old Oregon Inlet Road, most between Spencer Street and Seagull Drive, were hit hardest. In recent years, houses on the east side of Seagull had been lost to erosion from previous storms. But with the beach getting narrower, there was less to buffer them from the heavy surf of the last nor'easter.

Hundreds of huge sandbags piled in front of and under the two-story structures are now tattered and empty.

State law allows sandbags to be repaired and replaced, but they must be removed if the house is gone, said Michele Walker, spokeswoman for the state Division of Coastal Management.

Besides destroyed sandbags, beaches are littered with pieces of wood, asphalt, concrete, PVC pipe and wire. Entire sections of houses have broken off and lay on the beach; some are completely collapsed, with their contents spilling out.

"The bottom line is we have these properties sitting out there completely exposed to the ocean," said Bill Bell, a Nags Head resident whose blog, Bill's OBX Beach Life, focuses on windsurfing.

"It's been deposited on our beaches. It's in our ocean. And when folks go into the water, they're at risk of having a piece of decking, basically, kill them."

Cliff Ogburn, town manager, said the town will work with homeowners who need more than the 18 days provided to deal with the nuisance.

"They've all been very cooperative," he said. "None of them are happy, of course."

Unless a lot can be found to which to relocate the houses, or the exposed septic tanks can be re-permitted, Ogburn said, it will be necessary to demolish some of the structures.

A septic permit requires a 50-foot setback from the ocean at high tide and at least 18 inches above the soil wetness level, said Jack Flythe, the county's environmental health supervisor. He said there have been nine applications submitted from South Nags Head, and two have been re-permitted. Other property owners may be waiting to apply, he said, in hopes the beach will build back.

But Bob Muller, the town's former mayor, said the shoreline erosion on South Nags Head has gone too far, illustrating the critical need for beach nourishment.

The town is working on acquiring permits for a project, but financing hasn't been found yet.

"Now we're in the development zone," Muller said. "And unless we restore the beach, we're going to see more and more of this level of damage."

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com