Over the last year, several homes have collapsed into the surf along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore as beach erosion due to rising seas worsen.
A house collapsed into the ocean Monday on the string of islands just off the coast of North Carolina, according to U.S. National Park Service officials.
Officials warned visitors to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the state's Outer Banks to watch out for debris from a collapsed one-story house along the beach and in the ocean in Rodanthe.
Most of the debris is at the site of the collapsed house along East Point Drive, and officials said they are communicating with the owner of the house to coordinate the removal of the house and all related debris on the beach.
The site of the collapse on Monday is about a mile north of Ocean Drive, where other homes collapsed last year, including two that collapsed on the same day in May.
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Over the last few years, the county has grappled with the high cost of beach nourishment, the process of dredging sand from the ocean floor and piping it to the shore to replenish the coast line. Leaders in Dare County say they can no longer afford to build back the beaches without state and federal help.
According to NBC affiliate WRAL, nearly $100 million was already spent on beach nourishment in the Outer Banks in 2021alone, with Dare County covering $30 million of the cost for projects in Buxton and Avon. Leaders in Dare County say they can't afford to build back the beaches in Rodanthe without state and federal help.
“The county doesn’t have the funds to pay for a beach nourishment project,” Dare County Manager Bobby Outten told WRAL. “We don’t have $30 million to do that, and without an influx of new money, we aren’t going to be in a position to nourish in Rodanthe.”
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However, shifting the financial burden of rebuilding onto tax payers to protect these often high-end homes is a tough sell.
North Carolina’s coast is almost entirely made up of narrow, low-lying barrier islands. The islands are particularly vulnerable to storm surges and to being washed over from both sides.
