Storm rips apart one Outer Banks home and more are poised to collapse, NC park warns
An ongoing coastal storm has claimed a beachfront home along North Carolina’s Outer Banks and the National Park Service warns that others could fall in coming days.
The house at 23241 Surf Side Drive in Rodanthe fell under cover of darkness between sunset Nov. 14 and dawn Nov. 15, Cape Hatteras National Seashore said in a news release.
“The beach in front of Rodanthe is temporarily closed due to hazardous debris. The Seashore is also urging its visitors to avoid the beach and ocean for potentially many miles to the south of Rodanthe,” park officials said.
“Cape Hatteras National Seashore ... is also monitoring unoccupied threatened structures at G A Kohler Court and Sea Oats Drive.”
Park officials are in contact with the owner of the collapsed house about cleanup measures. However, the task is hampered by ongoing severe weather, which prompted the closure of N.C. Highway 12 between the Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe, the park said.
It’s the sixth time since May a home has collapsed in Rodanthe, which is being hard hit by beach erosion and rising sea levels. In all, 11 homes have collapsed in the area since May 2020, park officials say.
The latest collapse happened just hours after Cape Hatteras National Seashore urged caution on roads and beaches in the area, due to a coastal storm that is expected to produce “strong wind gusts, elevated tides and heavy rainfall.” Up to three inches of rain is forecast for part of the Outer Banks, with gusts in excess of 50 mph, the National Weather Service says.
Visitors were specifically warned to avoid the northern end of Rodanthe and South Shore Drive “due to the potential for small-to-large pieces of debris to fall off multiple threatened oceanfront structures during and after the storm conditions.”
Debris from collapsed houses is known to drift for 20 miles or more, then wash ashore, leaving beaches littered with nails, twisted metal and broken boards. Much of it ends up on beaches governed by the National Park Service as part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
“The daily effects of winds, waves, and tides, along with rising seas and storms, have played a part in contributing to coastal erosion impacts at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, particularly adjacent to the villages of Rodanthe and Buxton,” NPS officials say.
“Many private properties adjacent to the beach in Rodanthe, which previously contained backyard land, dunes, and dry sand, are either partially or fully covered with ocean water on a regular basis.”
Rodanthe is about a 215-mile drive east from Raleigh.
This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Storm rips apart one Outer Banks home and more are poised to collapse, NC park warns."