Another house collapses in Rodanthe; 8th since 2020

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Another oceanfront home in Rodanthe collapsed Friday during the early morning hours.

This is the third home on Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches to collapse in 2024, and the eighth since 2020.

The four-bedroom, three-bathroom house at 23001 G A Kohler Court in Rodanthe was built in 1992 and was owned by a resident of Hampton, Virginia. It was unoccupied at the time of the collapse and had a total structure and land tax value of $280,600, according to Dare County records.

National Park Service officials are urging visitors to avoid the beach and stay out of the water near the north end of Rodanthe, and potentially for miles to the south. In addition, the seashore is monitoring an adjacent house that sustained damages because of the house collapse.

Dangerous debris may be present on the beach and in the water to the north and south of the collapse site, which will likely lead to temporary beach closures for public safety.

A debris removal contractor, hired by the property owner, is expected to begin cleanup work Friday. Debris removal activities may also be conducted by National Park Service staff.

Earlier this year, an unoccupied home in the G A Kohler Court area collapsed Aug. 16 and a home at the end of Ocean Drive in Rodanthe collapsed on May 28.

In March 2023, an oceanfront home collapsed at East Point Drive in Rodanthe.

On May 10, 2022, two unoccupied homes located on Ocean Drive, collapsed within a 12-hour period. 

In February 2022 and May 2020, two additional Rodanthe homes in the Ocean Drive vicinity also collapsed into the ocean.

All of these home collapses resulted in a large debris field on Hatteras Island, which was addressed and cleaned up by the National Park Service, local volunteers, and/or contractors enlisted by the homeowners themselves.

No personal injuries were reported in connection with any of the collapses.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review partners with the online publication to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.