A third home has collapsed along Cape Hatteras National Seashore, highlighting the ongoing threat of erosion and rising sea levels to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The National Park Service is urging visitors to avoid the beach and stay out of the water near the north end of Rodanthe and potentially for miles to the south following an early Friday morning collapse of an unoccupied home.
MANTEO, N.C. — Yet another home has collapsed into the rising surf along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Friday night, showing the ongoing threat of erosion and rising sea levels to North Carolina‘s Outer Banks.
The home had suffered damage from an adjacent home that collapsed into the surf earlier in the day along G A Kohler Court in Rodanthe.
Police received a call Friday night that the one-story unoccupied home had gone into the ocean. Officers arrived to find the home crumbled and swept into the surf before its debris washed back ashore further down the court.
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Photo taken the night of September 20 shows debris from 23009 G A Kohler Court at the south end of G A Kohler Court. (National Park Service)
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Home collapse in North Carolina (National Park Service)
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Photo taken the night of September 20 shows debris from 23009 G A Kohler Court at the south end of G A Kohler Court. (National Park Service)
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Visitors are urged to stay away from the beach near Rodanthe, North Carolina, following another home collapse due to erosion. (Jenni Koontz / Epic Shutter Photography)
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Visitors are urged to stay away from the beach near Rodanthe, North Carolina, following another home collapse due to erosion. (Jenni Koontz / Epic Shutter Photography)
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Visitors are urged to stay away from the beach near Rodanthe, North Carolina, following another home collapse due to erosion. (Jenni Koontz / Epic Shutter Photography)
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Visitors are urged to stay away from the beach near Rodanthe, North Carolina, following another home collapse due to erosion. (Jenni Koontz / Epic Shutter Photography)
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Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) is urging its visitors to avoid the beach and stay out of the water near the north end of Rodanthe and potentially for miles to the south, due to an early morning collapse of an unoccupied house. (Cape Hatteras National Seashore)
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Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) is urging its visitors to avoid the beach and stay out of the water near the north end of Rodanthe and potentially for miles to the south, due to an early morning collapse of an unoccupied house. (Cape Hatteras National Seashore)
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Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) is urging its visitors to avoid the beach and stay out of the water near the north end of Rodanthe and potentially for miles to the south, due to an early morning collapse of an unoccupied house. (Cape Hatteras National Seashore)
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Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) is urging its visitors to avoid the beach and stay out of the water near the north end of Rodanthe and potentially for miles to the south, due to an early morning collapse of an unoccupied house. (Cape Hatteras National Seashore)
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Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) is urging its visitors to avoid the beach and stay out of the water near the north end of Rodanthe and potentially for miles to the south, due to an early morning collapse of an unoccupied house. (Cape Hatteras National Seashore)
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Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) is urging its visitors to avoid the beach and stay out of the water near the north end of Rodanthe and potentially for miles to the south, due to an early morning collapse of an unoccupied house. (Cape Hatteras National Seashore)
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Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) is urging its visitors to avoid the beach and stay out of the water near the north end of Rodanthe and potentially for miles to the south, due to an early morning collapse of an unoccupied house. (Cape Hatteras National Seashore)
The homeowners are securing contractors to clean up the debris. In the meantime, National Park Service staff warn all beachgoers on the north end of Rodanthe and for miles to the south, to stay out of the water and wear hard-soled shoes when walking on the beach to avoid injuries from hazardous floating debris and nail-ridden wooden debris. Park staff have already found debris from Friday morning’s house collapse present 9 miles to the south.
This is now the fourth house collapse along this beach in the past year and the ninth in the past four years, according to the NPS. No injuries have been reported.
In August, swells produced by Hurricane Ernesto caused at least one house to collapse along the Outer Banks. Dare County Emergency Management said the house was already at risk of collapsing well before the hurricane’s tides put the structure at risk.
Houses along the beach in Rodanthe, NC battle the ocean after a coastal storm. Sept. 16, 2024 (Courtesy: Wes Snyder Photography)
When the Category 2 hurricane occurred, it was more than 1,000 miles away from North Carolina. However, due to the combination of rough surf and high water levels, significant erosion and coastal flooding happened along barrier islands.
The NPS said the daily effects of wind, waves and tides, along with rising ocean levels, have played a significant role in coastal erosion along Cape Hatteras National Seashore.