Southeastern NC beaches to get post-Irene aid

TOPSAIL BEACH, N.C. — Topsail Beach and Bald Head Island will get $8 million in funding to replenish tourism-generating beaches damaged by Hurricane Irene.

The StarNews of Wilmington reports (http://bit.ly/ydrxTF ) that U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre announced the Federal Emergency Management Agency funding on Friday.

Topsail Beach will get $6.3 million, with the rest going to Bald Head Island.

Three-quarters of the money will come from the federal government, with the state providing the remaining 25 percent.

McIntyre says communities along the shore suffered millions of dollars' worth of damage when Irene charged up the East Coast last August.

The goal of the funding is to restore the beaches to their pre-storm condition.

Monday is the deadline for people to file flood insurance claims for damage caused by Irene. The National Flood Insurance Program extended the deadline for policyholders in North Carolina and 14 other states after state officials voiced concerns about insurance coverage and filing deadlines.

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Latest Comments

" love the outer banks and beaches all the way to Holden beach ... but my love only goes to the point just before government enters my pocketbook. are you kidding me"

So you want the perks but none of the responsibility. Sounds like looking for an entitlement to me.

fayncmike
January 23, 2012 1:09 p.m.

waste of money ... probably washed away next year ... love the outer banks and beaches all the way to Holden beach ... but my love only goes to the point just before government enters my pocketbook.

are you kidding me
January 23, 2012 12:58 p.m.

The coastline, all of the coastline must be preserved. That's all there is to it.

fayncmike
January 23, 2012 12:35 p.m.

I can see Topsail,But Bald Head is private with restricted access public funds should not pay for them. But there a lot of big wigs that have houses there.

dryjr
January 23, 2012 9:35 a.m.

Beach replenishment is not to benefit the tourist - but the local homeowners who live too close to what used to be a completely variable environment. Beachfront property owners, live too close to the sea - especially at Topsail.

Those of us who do not live on the beach should not have to subsidize the property values of those who do, especially by replacing lost sand, which over time would naturally replenish itself.

It's comparable to building a home on the slope of an active volcano and asking the public to pay for lava diversion, road repavement everytime there is an eruption.