RODANTHE, N.C. — A house in Rodanthe, North Carolina fell into the ocean early Tuesday morning, marking the latest in a series of collapses in the Outer Banks community.
The collapse happened at 24131 Ocean Drive, likely around 2:30 a.m., according to Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials, and becomes the first official house collapse and cleanup effort along Seashore beaches for 2024.
It's the fourth house to collapse into the ocean from the Ocean Drive stretch of Rodanthe since 2022, and the sixth along Cape Hatteas beaches since 2020.
"This house was a state of potential collapse over the last week, with a vertical loss of sand helping to keep its piling stable," Dave Hallac said, superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Hallac added roughly 45 National Park Service staff helped cleanup the debris that had been taken away by the ocean's current, in addition to the homeowner contracting out the debris removal from the site itself.
"Certainly once a house collapses, it usually costs tens of thousands of dollars to cleanup," Hallac said.
Roughly one mile of the beach is closed from Sea Haven Drive to South Shore Drive. People are asked to avoid the beaches north of Sea Haven Drive into the southern part of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge due to possible debris.
Officials also said more beach closures are possible if debris spreads.
“Something’s got to happen or we’re going to keep losing houses," Chris Lampman said, a Virginia resident who owns a vacation home nearby just at the entrance to the Rodanthe Pier.
His house, while not situated directly on the beach, sits higher up on the Rodanthe dunes yet still within feet from the latest collapse, and tells 13News Now this latest fall still draws concerns that his house will suffer the same fate.
“No comfortability at all," he says.
"Mother nature will always win. She’ll come back and get it," his wife added.
Four of the collapses since 2020 happened within a 13-month period, according to the National Park Service. Debris from those collapses washed out more than 15 miles into the ocean.
Officials and homeowners have grappled with how to address the issue, with pricey solutions such as relocating homes away from the shoreline and beach nourishment. As previously reported by 13News Now, the scope of what could be covered by a person's insurance presents a difficult road to navigate for both homeowners and authorities.
"I can’t comment on the particulars of insurance, but I can tell you our goal for these houses, these threatened oceanfront structures is that they’re moved or removed from their locations," Hallac said.
In November, officials began the work of demolishing Rodanthe homes threatened by erosion, removing two properties on East Beacon Road.