RODANTHE, N.C. — A one-story house on East Point Drive in Rodanthe collapsed on March 13 leaving behind debris in the area as far as 21 miles away, according to officials with Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The house was unoccupied according to Mike Barber with the National Park Service (NPS). On Tuesday, he said the house broke up into many pieces and there is not much left of the house’s remains at the collapse site.
Following the collapse, the bulk of the debris was within a few miles of the home’s location, but some debris has migrated north of Rodanthe and south.
National Park Service crews scoured the beach in trucks, picking up debris.
Barber said plans for a volunteer beach cleanup may be announced soon.
This isn’t the first home in Rodanthe to collapse: One home in the community collapsed in February of 2022 and two other homes collapsed in May of 2022.
Boone Vandzura, Chief Ranger for Cape Hatteras National Seashore, told News 3, “We contacted these homeowners over a year ago letting them know the ocean is getting closer to their homes."
Vandzura also said Dare County has also sent letters to other homeowners letting them know their property may be at risk as well.
"Those homeowners need to take responsibility for their homes and move them, tear them down before mother nature does because it litters the national seashore and affects all the visitors who are coming to our national seashore, Vandzura stated.
Noah Gillam with Dare County wrote in part that they have decertified several houses for occupancy due to not having functioning wastewater systems and having ingress/egress issues.
"The homeowners will have to correct these issues before we will release occupancy back to the dwellings. The homeowners will have to work and obtain permits with Dare County Environmental Health and Dare County Planning to reestablish their wastewater systems, and correct their structural issues with the access to the dwellings."
According to Cape Hatteras National Seashore, as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, National Park Service employees collected and removed 20 truckloads of house debris from the beach.
