Outer Banks home collapses into the ocean and starts breaking apart, NC park says

UPDATE: Debris from the collapsed home has spread 11 miles north and the National Park Service is coordinating with the property owner on a cleanup plan, officials said in an Aug. 18 news release. “Substantial damage has also occurred to several other threatened oceanfront structures in northern Rodanthe between the G.A. Kohler Drive area and the north end of Mirlo Beach. Visitors should avoid the beach in these areas,” the National Park Service says.

The original story is below:

Another beachfront home has fallen into the Atlantic Ocean on North Carolina’s Outer Banks — the seventh in four years, according to the National Park Service.

The house at 23214 Corbina Drive in Rodanthe toppled Friday, Aug. 16, and quickly began to break apart in the surf, the park said in a news release.

It was unoccupied and no injuries were reported.

“Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge strongly urges all visitors to avoid the beaches and stay out of the water around all areas of the beaches and surf in Rodanthe,” officials said.

“Many other homes appear to have sustained damages in the Rodanthe area. Dangerous debris may be present on the beach and in the water for more than a dozen miles.”

Video of the collapse posted on Instagram by Jason Hornung shows the pilings under the two-story home all snapped all at once, leaving it floating out to sea.

Incoming waves then began to slam against the walls. A large porch quickly fell off and broke into pieces, the video shows. (Hornung’s video, which features strong language, can be viewed here.)

The public is being denied access to areas “from the northern boundary of Rodanthe up to the northern end of the Jug Handle Bridge,” officials said.

Currents are sending hazardous debris from the home to the north, but communities to the south are being warned that could change with shifts in the wind.

Arrangements to remove the debris had not been made by the property owner as of Friday, prompting the National Park Service to consider mounting a removal effort of its own.

Home collapses on the Outer Bank are known to leave nail-filled boards, jagged metal and broken glass spread along beaches. In 2022, debris from a collapsed home was found scattered as far as 15 miles away, the National Park Service reported.

“The (park) does not expect significant debris removal efforts to occur until after the elevated sea conditions subside early next week,” officials said.

The collapse happened just hours after the park warned that distant Hurricane Ernesto was causing dangerous ocean conditions on the Outer Banks. People are being urged to stay out of the ocean, the park said.

Ocean over wash was reported along highway NC 12 at the north end of Ocracoke Island, and drivers were urged to show “extreme caution.”

The ongoing collapses of homes in the Rodanthe area are the result of beach erosion — a normal part of beach living that has worsened due to rising sea levels, experts say.

Rodanthe is about a 215-mile drive east from Raleigh.

This story was originally published August 17, 2024 at 6:01 AM with the headline "Outer Banks home collapses into the ocean and starts breaking apart, NC park says."