Ocracoke Island To Open For Thanksgiving Tourism With Residents Still Displaced

By Grant Holub-Moorman,

Frank Stasio

Published November 12, 2019 at 12:20 PM EST

A pile of rubble behind a sign for cottage rentals

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With homes still under repair, Ocracoke Island is facing decisions about tourist versus resident housing.

Connie Leinbach / Ocracoke Observer

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Residents dubbed the main debris heap Mount Trashmore.

Connie Leinbach / Ocracoke Observer

A picture taken from a car onto a sandy path

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While NC 12 is under repair, cars are redirected onto a sandy bypass.

Connie Leinbach / Ocracoke Observer

A chalkboard beer menu with various jokes about the recovery including: Where is F.E.M.A.? (Fuggle, El Dorado, Mosaic, Azacca)

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Some businesses rebounded quickly and have been providing residents an escape from the long haul of rebuilding.

Connie Leinbach / Ocracoke Observer

Nearly 10 weeks after Hurricane Dorian struck North Carolina’s coast, Ocracoke Island is still under an evacuation order blocking visitors and tourism. On Monday, Nov. 11, the Hyde County Board of Commissioners agreed to allow visitors starting Nov. 22, which is the same day the island’s main road is expected to reopen.

Many businesses pushed to reopen the island to tourists before Thanksgiving to recoup lost profits, but concerns remain about whether the influx of visitors will delay repairs for permanent residents. Host Frank Stasio talks with Connie Leinbach, the editor and co-publisher of the Ocracoke Observer, as well as Tom Pahl, Ocracoke's elected representative to the Hyde County Board of Commissioners, about engaging democracy during disaster recovery.