Family beach house crumbles into the sea – the sixth on the same stretch of beach in just four years as shorelines erode

A family beach house plunged into the ocean off North Carolina’s Outer Banks in the early hours of Tuesday, authorities said, becoming the sixth home to collapse into the water as shoreline erosion continues in the area.

In a news release, Cape Hatteras National Seashore said a cleanup was underway at the site, confirming the home was vacant when the incident occurred in the community of Rodanthe, 100 miles south of Virginia Beach.

The house fell into the Atlantic Ocean around 2:30 a.m. local time, officials said. During the cleanup, approximately one mile of beach area had to be closed to the public. Debris is expected to travel towards the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Online records show the house was built in 1970. It features five bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms spread over 1,700 square feet. The owners of the home are listed as Cynthia Turner and Heather Evans.

It last sold in 2021 for $500,000. The seller was a vacation rental company. Between 2005 and the most recent undated appraisal, the home’s value plummeted from about $675,000 to $185,000.

An undated photo shows the house from the rear

The previous collapses in the area occurred between 2020 and 2023, with three occurring in 2022 alone.

Coastal erosion is caused by wind, waves, tides, storms and rising sea levels, decimating the Rodanthe and Buxton area of ​​the Tar Heel State.

The North Carolina coast consists almost entirely of narrow, low-lying barrier islands. Hatteras Island is part of what is known as the Outer Banks.

Hundreds of expensive holiday homes have been built there in places where experts say this probably should be done have not been. The islands are particularly vulnerable to storm surges and flooding from both sides.

Development only compounds the problem as communities replenish coastlines that are eroding or depleted by storms.

As sea levels rise, barrier islands typically move toward the mainland for long periods of time. Keeping them in place artificially only makes them more vulnerable.

‘Another one left in the dust… This situation will continue,’ former Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent David Hallac the Washington Post.

A neighbor told me WAVY that she was the first on the scene when the collapse occurred.

“I took pictures and measured from the window of that house and measured to see how much the house moved,” Debbie Roberts said.

“And every day I saw it moving, and I know it’s going in before I leave, I just know it is… and it definitely happened.”

The cleanup effort began Tuesday, with office workers even deployed by the Park Service

“If we don’t do it, we would accept that this debris would continue to spread over many kilometers,” an official said of the cleanup efforts.

Hallac added that to speed up the clean-up work, a total of 49 staff were sent to the site of the collapse, including office workers.

“If we don’t do it, we would accept that this debris would spread many kilometers further. You have to start cleaning up right away, otherwise it will be almost unfeasible in the future,” he continued.

As recently as May 16, CHNS warned the public to avoid beaches surrounding the home due to exposed wires, damaged septic systems and debris caused by the erosion.

Park Service spokesman Mike Barber told the newspaper that additional beach closures may occur due to hazardous debris.

The Post’s report notes that in an effort to stem the tide, some homeowners have taken on the costly task of moving their homes from the coast. Despite the ordeal, White is only a temporary measure.

Others have simply sold their homes to the Park Service, which in turn demolishes them and turns them into beaches.