- Another beachfront home in Rodanthe, North Carolina has collapsed into the ocean.
- It was the fourth house to be washed away by the sea last year, according to the Washington Post.
- The North Carolina Coastal Federation estimates that Rodanthe loses about 14 feet of beach per year on average.
Another beachfront home in Rodanthe, North Carolina has collapsed into the ocean, the Cape Hatteras National Coast said in a press release Monday.
Most of the debris from the house remains on the site. Authorities have warned visitors to be cautious when participating in nearby recreational activities.
“The Seashore is contacting the home owner to coordinate the removal of the home and all related beach debris,” US National Park Service officials at Cape Hatteras said in the statement.
The one-story home, located at 23228 East Point Drive, is the fourth home in the area to collapse in the past year, The Washington Post reported.
The three-bedroom property was built in 1976 and is owned by a couple who have another address in Pennsylvania, according to property records seen by Insider. The couple bought the Rodanthe house in 2007.
Local authorities cut off power to the property and marked it as a safety hazard in May, Dare County Planning Director Noah Gillam told The Post.
“We are patrolling the surrounding areas and will likely decertify other occupancy structures due to damaged septic tanks and structural damage,” Gillam said.
—Kaitlin Wright (@wxkaitlin) March 13, 2023
The area has been struggling with severe coastal erosion in recent years. Beachfront homes have collapsed into the sea since 2020, according to local media Free Island Press.
In February 2022, a beachfront home in North Carolina partially collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean, spread debris more than seven miles up the coast.
And in May, a video circulating on Twitter captured the dramatic moment when a Rodanthe house on stilts fallen into the sea and was swept away after being beaten by powerful ocean waves.
Rodanthe loses about 14 feet of beach per year on average, but severe erosion can extend up to 20 feet in some sections, par North Carolina Coastal Federationa non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the state’s coast.
Although Dare County spent around $71 million in 2022 on beach food projects in towns like Southern Shores and Kitty Hawk, no such project is planned for Rodanthe at present.
The home’s owners, Gillam, and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment outside of normal business hours.