Another home along the Outer Banks crumbles into the Atlantic
Earlier this month, a beachfront home collapsed into the ocean, spreading debris as far as seven miles away. This is the third home to fall into the Atlantic Ocean and officials say weather is only part of the reason for these collapses.
By
Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Feb 14, 2022 12:29 PM EDT
|
Updated Feb 14, 2022 12:59 PM EDT
The National Park Service is working to coordinate the removal of the house and all debris but is warning visitors to be cautious in the meantime.
As rising sea levels eat away at the coast, the Atlantic Ocean has claimed yet another house in Rodanthe, North Carolina. Unfortunately, this isn't the first house to fall into the ocean along the coastline in Rodanthe on Hatteras Island, which is part of North Carolina's famous Outer Banks.
According to local news stations, in 2012, a beach house that was damaged by Hurricane Sandy collapsed into the ocean and in 2020, another home was washed away, which left a trail of debris along the shoreline.
Noah Gillam, the planning director for Dare County, where Rodanthe is located, confirmed to AccuWeather in an interview that "a combination of erosion and the increased swell size from the weather" was the cause of the collapsed house.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore shared a photo of the collapsed two-story house on Facebook on Wednesday, Feb. 10, in a news release, urging beachgoers to use caution when participating in recreational activities due to debris on the beach.
In early February 2022, this home collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean, the third coastal home in the area to crumble into the sea over the last 10 years. (Cape Hatteras National Seashore)
"The bulk of the debris is at the site of the collapsed house," officials from the Cape Hatteras National Seashore said and warned that smaller amounts of debris had been spotted as far as seven miles away.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"There were 15 miles of beach that we had looked at that had debris on them," David Halloc, the superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina told AccuWeather in an interview. "When I visited the site, there was everything from washing machines to toasters on the beach. So there are a lot of potential impacts to wildlife and to human health in the area as well."
Gillam told AccuWeather removal of the house and clean-up of the debris is the responsibility of the homeowner.
Since the clean-up of this house will require heavy equipment, the homeowners must submit a plan to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore to ensure that the equipment and removal methods aren't causing more harm.
"The homeowner submitted a plan to us and we reviewed it and have issued a permit with some conditions," Halloc said. "The purpose of the conditions are to protect the safety of our visitors and to protect the environment."
"[Houses falling into the ocean from erosion] is definitely more frequent now with the weather trends. We've been pretty lucky and not had a significant hurricane in some time now. The last house to collapse was in 2020," said Gillam. Hurricane Dorian made landfall on Cape Hatteras in early September 2019.
Coastal erosion is inevitable, but the erosion rate along the North Carolina coast is significantly high. Where this house in Rodanthe crumbled into the ocean, the coastal erosion rate is about six feet per year, but just a mile up the beach, the erosion rate climbs to a shocking 12 feet per year, according to the Coastal Resource Commission's interactive map.
The house has been vacant for more than a year, and the electricity and water were not connected at the time of the collapse.
Most of the houses along the oceanfront throughout the county are not lived in by full-time residents, they're rental homes and vacation rental homes, according to Gillam.
Town officials are dispatched after significant storms throughout the year to inspect the conditions of properties. The town will tag structures and send a letter to notify property owners that there are structural issues and they need to work to resolve the problems.
Gillam told AccuWeather this usually requires the property owner to find a contractor who will either move the house to a different location on the lot or work to make sure the house is in good standing.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo
News / Climate
Another home along the Outer Banks crumbles into the Atlantic
Earlier this month, a beachfront home collapsed into the ocean, spreading debris as far as seven miles away. This is the third home to fall into the Atlantic Ocean and officials say weather is only part of the reason for these collapses.
By Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Feb 14, 2022 12:29 PM EDT | Updated Feb 14, 2022 12:59 PM EDT
The National Park Service is working to coordinate the removal of the house and all debris but is warning visitors to be cautious in the meantime.
As rising sea levels eat away at the coast, the Atlantic Ocean has claimed yet another house in Rodanthe, North Carolina. Unfortunately, this isn't the first house to fall into the ocean along the coastline in Rodanthe on Hatteras Island, which is part of North Carolina's famous Outer Banks.
According to local news stations, in 2012, a beach house that was damaged by Hurricane Sandy collapsed into the ocean and in 2020, another home was washed away, which left a trail of debris along the shoreline.
Noah Gillam, the planning director for Dare County, where Rodanthe is located, confirmed to AccuWeather in an interview that "a combination of erosion and the increased swell size from the weather" was the cause of the collapsed house.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore shared a photo of the collapsed two-story house on Facebook on Wednesday, Feb. 10, in a news release, urging beachgoers to use caution when participating in recreational activities due to debris on the beach.
In early February 2022, this home collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean, the third coastal home in the area to crumble into the sea over the last 10 years. (Cape Hatteras National Seashore)
"The bulk of the debris is at the site of the collapsed house," officials from the Cape Hatteras National Seashore said and warned that smaller amounts of debris had been spotted as far as seven miles away.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"There were 15 miles of beach that we had looked at that had debris on them," David Halloc, the superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina told AccuWeather in an interview. "When I visited the site, there was everything from washing machines to toasters on the beach. So there are a lot of potential impacts to wildlife and to human health in the area as well."
Gillam told AccuWeather removal of the house and clean-up of the debris is the responsibility of the homeowner.
Since the clean-up of this house will require heavy equipment, the homeowners must submit a plan to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore to ensure that the equipment and removal methods aren't causing more harm.
"The homeowner submitted a plan to us and we reviewed it and have issued a permit with some conditions," Halloc said. "The purpose of the conditions are to protect the safety of our visitors and to protect the environment."
"[Houses falling into the ocean from erosion] is definitely more frequent now with the weather trends. We've been pretty lucky and not had a significant hurricane in some time now. The last house to collapse was in 2020," said Gillam. Hurricane Dorian made landfall on Cape Hatteras in early September 2019.
Coastal erosion is inevitable, but the erosion rate along the North Carolina coast is significantly high. Where this house in Rodanthe crumbled into the ocean, the coastal erosion rate is about six feet per year, but just a mile up the beach, the erosion rate climbs to a shocking 12 feet per year, according to the Coastal Resource Commission's interactive map.
The house has been vacant for more than a year, and the electricity and water were not connected at the time of the collapse.
Most of the houses along the oceanfront throughout the county are not lived in by full-time residents, they're rental homes and vacation rental homes, according to Gillam.
Town officials are dispatched after significant storms throughout the year to inspect the conditions of properties. The town will tag structures and send a letter to notify property owners that there are structural issues and they need to work to resolve the problems.
Gillam told AccuWeather this usually requires the property owner to find a contractor who will either move the house to a different location on the lot or work to make sure the house is in good standing.
More to read:
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo