October 1, 2026
HATTERAS, N.C. — N.C. Baptists on Mission deployed volunteers Monday with a mobile kitchen to provide hot meals, snacks and bottled water to stranded tourists in Rodanthe as Hatteras Island continues to recover from a powerful nor’easter that battered the Outer Banks last week.
N.C. Highway 12 has been closed between the Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe since Sept. 24, when ocean overwash from the storm damaged a 1,000-foot section of pavement near the Pea Island Visitor Center, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation. The agency said it expects to reopen the road to northbound traffic Wednesday morning. Until then, an emergency ferry route between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point remains the only way off the island, with three ferries running around the clock.
With ferry capacity limited and demand high, tourists trying to leave Hatteras Island have faced long waits at the Rodanthe terminal. Dare County officials said each ferry can carry approximately 25 to 30 standard vehicles per trip, for a combined capacity of about 250 vehicles every 24 hours.
A state of emergency remains in effect for Hatteras Island, and Dare County officials said entry is currently restricted to essential personnel and residents, with visitors and nonresident property owners not permitted on the island.
With the highway still closed, the mobile kitchen had to be transported to Rodanthe via the same emergency ferry that travelers are relying on to leave the island.
“Our volunteers go wherever the need is, large or small,” said Tom Beam, disaster response coordinator for N.C. Baptists on Mission. “Today, that need is a bunch of tired travelers stuck in Rodanthe, and we’re glad to be there for them and share the love of Christ.”
According to a Facebook post from One Church Avon, the mobile kitchen’s location shifted following its arrival after the ferry line moved north while travelers waited for N.C. Highway 12 to reopen. Volunteers from Cape Hatteras Baptist Church helped Baptists on Mission with morning setup, delivered snacks to those waiting in line, and assisted with lunch distribution, while One Church Avon volunteers delivered hot lunches to emergency workers and travelers throughout the line of vehicles.
“Some people told us it had been 36 hours since they had eaten a hot meal,” One Church Avon wrote in its post. “That made every plate handed through a car window feel even more significant.”
In all, N.C. Baptists on Mission volunteers served 700 meals and distributed 1,500 bottles of water to stranded travelers, according to a Facebook post from the organization.
“It might have been a small operation, but offering hot food to anyone in need is an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus,” Baptists on Mission wrote in the post, thanking One Church Avon and Cape Hatteras Baptist Church for assisting volunteers.
N.C. Baptists on Mission regularly deploys volunteer teams for both large-scale disaster response and smaller relief efforts across North Carolina and beyond, providing meals and other support during storms and other emergencies.
Volunteers are expected to serve on Hatteras Island all day Tuesday and Wednesday and possibly on Thursday.
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This article appeared in the Biblical Recorder.
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