A second house at Cape Hatteras National Seashore has been claimed by the Atlantic Ocean/NPS
Another house has been claimed by the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and it's possible that more will be claimed as the ocean continues to churn against the barrier islands of North Carolina's Outer Banks.
National seashore staff was alerted to the latest collapse -- the second this year -- Tuesday morning in Rodanthe. The beach has been closed along all of Ocean Drive in Rodanthe to protect the public from hazards associated with the collapsed home and because there are additional homes in the area that may collapse, a seashore release said.
Visitors were urged to use caution when participating in recreational activities on the beach and in the ocean along Hatteras Island as debris is being spread widely across the seashore.
On February 9, a house located at 24183 Ocean Drive, Rodanthe, also collapsed onto the national seashore's property as the Atlantic undercut its foundational footers. The debris from this house spread across many miles of beaches before the homeowner, and volunteers in an organized beach cleanup event, were able to remove much of it. Clean up efforts for smaller pieces of debris related to that first house collapse continues.
“Unfortunately, there may be more houses that collapse onto seashore beaches in the near future,” said David Hallac, superintendent, National Parks of Eastern North Carolina. “We proactively reached out to homeowners along Ocean Drive in Rodanthe after the first house collapse and recommended that actions be taken to prevent collapse and impacts to Cape Hatteras National Seashore.”
The National Park Service will be working with the homeowner to coordinate cleanup activities and public updates will be provided when available. Visitors who plan to clean up some of the debris should place piles above the high tide line, so that the debris doesn’t get washed back into the ocean.
Debris from Tuesday's collapse of a house into the ocean is washing up along Cape Hatteras National Seashore's beaches/NPS
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Comments
This should not be a surprise. When I hiked the Mountains-to-Sea Trail across North Carolina
over ten years ago, there were a whole street of condemned houses on the ocean front.
But Rodanthe?? The famous house featured in the movie "Nights in Rodanthe"
had to be moved.
Danny Bernstein
www.hikertohiker.com
Water always wins.