RODANTHE, N.C. — The waves washed against the wooden pilings of a handful of houses in Rodanthe Tuesday afternoon. The same question has been top of mind for many locals: "What can be done to stop these structures from falling into the ocean and creating a public safety risk?"
Watch: Rodanthe house collapses into ocean
A working group of more than 30 North Carolina, federal and local stakeholders met three times in 2023 to try and address the concerns surrounding these oceanfront homes. Now, they've released their report, which can be read in full by clicking on the link below.
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2024 Threatened Oceanfront Structures Report for North Carolina beaches
The 20-page document titled "Managing Threatened Oceanfront Structures: Ideas from an Interagency Working Group" lists 11 short and long-term ideas of what can be done. The report starts by describing finding a source that can go specifically to this issue.
The report's short-term ideas include the following:
- Consider leveraging and expanding North Carolina’s efforts to acquire, relocate, or remove imminently threatened structures through existing programs such as the N.C. Public Beach and Waterfront Access Grants Program.
- Federal and state land management agencies may benefit from additional authorities, funding, and partnerships with local government and others to acquire threatened oceanfront structures.
The report also included the following long-term ideas:
- Consider authorizing a new, state program with funding dedicated to addressing threatened oceanfront structures.
- Beach communities may consider establishing their own buy-out or financial assistance programs under their own authorities and rules.
Watch previous coverage: What can be done for homes threatened by the ocean in Rodanthe?
Something that has come up a lot lately is public and private insurance.
Donna Creef, the government affairs director for the Outer Banks Association of Realtors, helped contribute to the report in May 2023.
"If you buy a house—whether it's on the oceanfront or anywhere in Dare County—if it's in a in a flood zone and you have a federally backed mortgage, you're required to get flood insurance," Creef explained. "More frequently, it's the National Flood Insurance Program. The private market is very narrow here in Dare County, and so you get your private insurance, you get your flood insurance, National Flood Insurance Program, but it's a cap of $250,000... [for] most of the houses, the house value exceeds that."
Creef says navigating insurance for oceanfront property can be difficult.
"It's a pretty vicious cycle because you buy the policy [and] erosion happens. You're faced with this very, very challenging situation where your insurance agent is saying, 'Well, you can't make a flood claim because the house hasn't collapsed yet. Don't take anything out of it,'" explained Creef. "The homeowners are forced with leaving it there because it's a big financial investment for them, and so they have to wait until the house collapses—and then it becomes a public safety issue."
Watch previous coverage: Some Rodanthe homeowners begin moving their houses away from the sea
The insurance-related recommendations are all for the long term. One recommendation in the report is as follows:
"Consider raising Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) coverage to at least $120,000 for the mitigation of severely and repetitively damaged structures, including relocation or demolition of flood-impacted structures at risk of erosion. The current $30,000 cap lags contemporary building construction and mitigation costs by decades and is insufficient to abate the most erosion-exposed structures. FEMA should also consider expanding eligibility for ICC coverage to include structures imminently threatened by shoreline erosion and requiring lots which receive ICC funds to demolish or relocate structures be dedicated to open space-compatible uses."
"It's a proactive approach. It worked back in the 1980s and it just seems like it's a good idea to reinstitute," said Creef. "I know that Congressman Murphy has reintroduced legislation to do exactly that. So hopefully that'll get some traction at the federal level."
Stretching more acquisition power to local governments is something that many feel would be beneficial. The stakeholders know these are just ideas at the moment, but they have to start somewhere.
Rodanthe residents we spoke with understand it is hard to address, but said something does need to happen.
