RODANTHE — An unoccupied, privately owned house located at 24131 Ocean Drive in Rodanthe, just south of Rodanthe Pier, collapsed into the ocean early Tuesday morning. This is the sixth house in that stretch of Hatteras Island to collapse in the past four years, according to a National Park Service press release.
A white door floated under Rodanthe Pier early morning Tuesday, along with pieces of house pilings and a large chunk of what appeared to be wooden siding.
The heavy debris occasionally knocked into the pilings holding up the pier, which has seen its own fair share of damage from the Atlantic Ocean and can be felt swaying at times.
The debris from the house was scattered across the beach to the north of the house and north of the pier.
Around 8:45 a.m., a handful of onlookers on the beach and on the pier viewed the piles of broken wood of various sizes, pillows and an assortment of furniture on the beach, with more washing up as the tide came in.
All that was left of the formerly two-story house on pilings was a small chunk of its top floor. The ocean had turned it 90 degrees, so that the roof seam was parallel with the ocean instead of being perpendicular as it used to be.
House debris in the water — pieces of siding, insulation, pilings and more — visibly extended beyond the length of the pier.
The house likely collapsed around 2:30 a.m. on May 28, according to a National Park Service (NPS) news release sent around 9 a.m.
“To help ensure the safety of visitors and allow for cleanup activities to occur, an approximately one-mile section of beach is closed from Sea Haven Drive to South Shore Drive,” the release said.
With debris drifting northward, the park service urged visitors to avoid the beaches north of Sea Haven Drive into the southern portion of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.
“Dangerous debris may be present on the beach and in the water,” the release said. “Additional beach closures may be necessary as the debris spreads and cleanup efforts proceed.”
Cape Hatteras National Seashore anticipated a debris removal contractor hired by the property owner to arrive Tuesday afternoon, according to the release.
The property owners’ mailing address is listed as in Arvene, New York, according to online Dare County property records.
It is unclear why they did not remove furniture or contract with a company to tear the house down before it met its demise.
The house has been on the brink of collapse for a while and “was just ready to go,” according to a neighbor several rows of houses to the west.
“Last Friday, we noticed it leaning forward and to the left,” Becky Young Todd said in a message. “We called and the NPS put a danger of collapse sign on it. It fell in the middle of the night.”
The ocean claimed five unoccupied, privately owned houses in Rodanthe since May 2020, with four falling in a 13-month period. Two houses on Ocean Drive fell on the same day — May 10, 2022 — during a multiday nor’easter.
The park service bought two houses on East Beacon Road in Rodanthe last September and contracted with a Powells Point-based company for them to be demolished in planned events in mid-November.
David Hallac, superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, said before the first demolition that the erosion rate in that stretch of Rodanthe is about 10 feet a year.
Cleanup can take over a month after unplanned house collapses, according to Mike Dunn, the owner of W.M. Dunn Construction, which was awarded the park service contract. Dunn said Nov. 15 before the first planned demolition that he expected most of the debris from the first house to be removed by the end of that day.
The park service is hosting a volunteer cleanup at the scene of the house collapse on Wednesday from 8-11:30 a.m., with the meeting spot at Rodanthe Pier, 24251 Atlantic Drive. Supplies will be provided to help seashore employees clean up small debris.
“Much of the wood pieces that have washed up on the beach have exposed nails, so all volunteers are encouraged to wear thick-soled footwear,” the park service said in a release. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
On Tuesday, 49 park service employees participated in a large-scale cleanup with assistance from Chicamacomico Banks Fire and Rescue and a contractor hired by the property owner.
Employees filled 31 pickup trucks with collapsed house debris and unloaded the debris at a nearby parking lot. The debris collected by seashore employees and volunteers will be permanently disposed of in the coming days.
For more information about the threatened oceanfront structures that border Cape Hatteras National Seashore, visit go.nps.gov/cahatos.
