BUXTON, N.C. — About two dozen people piled into the outdoor space at Fatty's Eatery in Buxton on Monday, excited to be able to spotlight the issues the area is facing with North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance Mike Causey. The meeting came after Saturday's 10th collapsed home in Buxton since the end of September.
"I was happy to be here to show my support, and I learned a lot because I talked to people that have been here for decades and the changes that they've seen with with the encroaching ocean getting closer and closer," said Causey.
Marcie Shoemaker has lived in Buxton for more than 30 years and helped orchestrate the meeting with members of the Buxton Civic Association.
"The beach is not going to build back up over the winter enough for a few of these houses to be saved. It's inevitable, and we need to face that fact, and we need to be preemptive about what we do about it," said Shoemaker.
Right now, more than two dozen homes remain threatened in Buxton by the encroaching ocean. Homeowners are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Those insured by the National Flood Insurance Program have to wait until the house collapses to collect their insurance payout.
"These houses that are unnecessarily falling into the ocean, that's an environmental disaster that could be prevented, and we're not preventing it right now, and it's not even really being talked about," said Shoemaker.
Though Causey doesn't have the ability to change that, he does say he's committed to speaking with state and federal elected leaders who can.
"I have no control over it, but I can speak to our congressional delegation and people that have an interest, and most of our folks do have an interest in saving our shoreline and what this area means to the economy of North Carolina. It's a big deal," said Causey.
Causey continued, saying he does feel that the situation here is something that state and federal elected leaders are aware of and something he can take back to Raleigh and keep a spotlight on.
"I think certainly the governor's aware of it. The congressional delegation is aware of it. Our legislators are aware of it, but we can continue those conversations, and I can relay the information that I picked up today to the other elected officials to let them know that what this situation is and how dire it is," said Causey.
Having the support from Causey was a big deal for Buxton residents on Monday.
"He has the governor's ear once a month, and the governor has federal agency's ear. He had to have made contacts in western North Carolina through federal agencies last year with all the FEMA problems that were going on out there," said Shoemaker.
Rep. Greg Murphy's bill was also brought up and how it can be accelerated in Washington, D.C. In 2024, Murphy introduced a bipartisan bill specifically proposing to change NFIP payout plans for homeowners of threatened oceanfront structures. What the bill would do is included below:
• Authorizes NFIP payouts for structures condemned due to chronic erosion or unusual flooding.
• Allows advance payouts for demolition or relocation: up to 40% of the home's value or $250,000.
• Limits payouts to 40% if owners neglect to act before a collapse.
• Reduces confusion in attributing damage to specific floods.
• Encourages proactive demolition or relocation to prevent collapses and reduce cleanup costs.
For Shoemaker, a meeting like this is bittersweet. She feels keeping the spotlight on everything in Buxton can accelerate help to the area, but worries about what can actually change when it comes to insurance laws.
"I think that if he (Causey) can talk to the governor, and the governor can talk to Greg Murphy and maybe garner some more support, but I hate to keep going back to the money. The insurance industry has a ginormous lobby. Why would Greg Murphy's bill go anywhere if it's going to change the way that things are done, if it's going to take away yearly guaranteed money from these insurance companies, why would they have an incentive to change the way that they're doing things? They don't," said Shoemaker.
Despite continued worries about what can be done in the area, residents and the Buxton Civic Association aren't going to stop pushing for change.
"I feel like it's kind of going to be an uphill fight to get these laws changed. But if we don't do anything, nothing's going to change," said Shoemaker.
Dare County already has plans for a beach nourishment project and a single jetty repair on the shoreline in 2026. Dare County Manager Bobby Outten and County Commissioner Mary Ellon Ballance, who represents Hatteras, were both in attendance for the meeting, continuing to say that the county is committed to the area and helping to find ways to ensure its future.
