Response of Carteret County, North Carolina, to Five Hurricanes from 1996 to 1999

The shoreline of Carteret County consists of 80 miles of ocean coast reaching approximately 40 miles north and west of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. The county's primary industry is the tourism related to beach visitation and sport fishing. The ocean shoreline of the county is barrier islands and tidal inlets including the high non-overwashed Bogue Banks and low washover barrier islands, Shackleford and Core Banks, north and east of Beaufort Inlet. Of the county's barrier islands, only 26 miles (Bogue Banks) are developed. The remainder, Shackleford and Core Banks, are held in perpetuity by the National Park Service in the Cape Lookout National Shoreline. North Carolina, including Carteret County, experienced five hurricanes from 1996 through 1999, four of those making landfall as hurricanes, and one as a tropical storm downgraded from a hurricane. Hurricanes Fran, Bertha, Bonnie, Dennis, and Floyd set in motion a series of political, engineering, and construction activities unprecedented for coastal municipalities in Carteret County. Those activities started in 1997 with the appointment of a Beach Preservation Task Force to study the feasibility of a regional beach nourishment program. Since then, the county and municipalities of Bogue Banks have implemented several beach nourishment projects funded entirely with local funds. Nourishment, totaling over 4.6 million cubic yards, was added between 2002 and 2004. An additional ~ 2 million cubic yards will be completed in 2005. Residential and commercial properties on Bogue Banks generate over 42 percent of the tax revenue for the County of Carteret while requiring expenditure of only 5 percent of the county budget to provide services to the barrier-island communities. Of the total property taxes collected, a significant percentage (Emerald Isle—26 percent, Pine Knoll Shores—46 percent, Indian Beach—64 percent) of the total is derived from oceanfront property. Destruction of barrier island property was considered a direct threat to the economic base of the community. The paper describes how three municipalities responded to erosion, established funding mechanisms, held referendums, and implemented projects within about two years after initiation.