Third Outer Banks Home Collapses into the Ocean in Days
Another Outer Banks home has succumbed to the encroaching Atlantic Ocean, marking the third collapse on a single street since Friday. The latest incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon, when a home on G.A. Kohler Court in Rodanthe crumbled into the sea.
This marks the tenth home on G.A. Kohler Court lost to the ocean in the past four years and the fifth collapse this year, a grim testament to the rising sea levels impacting North Carolina’s barrier islands. The homeowners had hired a contractor to remove the house, but high tides and other factors delayed the process.
The National Park Service has issued a warning to swimmers and surfers to stay out of the water in front of Rodanthe, Waves, and Salvo due to hazardous debris being transported by the waves. A large section of the beach has been closed to the public, and visitors are urged to wear hard-soled shoes to avoid stepping on debris like nails, building materials, exposed septic systems, wires, and broken concrete.
The cleanup effort has mobilized a large group of property owners, contractors, Outer Banks visitors, and seashore employees to remove debris scattered along over 20 miles of beach south of the collapse sites. More than 24 pickup truck loads of debris were removed by Monday.
Rodanthe has been particularly hard hit by collapsing oceanfront homes in recent years, largely due to erosion exacerbated by climate change. One of the homes that collapsed over the weekend had once boasted 100 yards of beach separating it from the ocean.
“There was a football field of beach behind these houses” when they purchased their home over a decade ago, one homeowner told WRAL.
“So many people say hateful things [and] ask why we built our house in the middle of the ocean,” said another homeowner, Sharon Troy. “It was not like this when we bought it.”
In August, Hurricane Ernesto washed away an unoccupied home on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, highlighting the destructive power of storms in the region.