A man watches as hurricane-roiled surf pounds Rodanthe Pier in North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Tropical storms, nor'easters, and hurricanes frequently pound the Outer Banks, driving the Atlantic Ocean inland and constantly eroding and reshaping this fragile strip of barrier islands.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Awash in Change: North Carolina's Outer Banks," October 1987, National Geographic magazine)