Rising sea levels are swallowing Outer Banks beaches, new report says

Hurricanes aren’t the only hazard lapping at the shores of the Outer Banks, according to a report examining the threat of climate change on some of the country’s most beloved natural landscapes.

Thanks to creeping sea levels and erosion rates, Cape Hatteras National Seashore made the list.

“One of the most imminent threats to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore is to the natural habitat it protects,” the Landslide 2019 report states. “As sea level rises, erosion rates increase and the natural habitat between the ocean and the waterfront properties decreases.”

The report is a product of The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), a nonprofit dedicated to the stewardship of those landscapes, that started in 2003.