Wednesday, August 19, 2026
By Outer Banks Voice on March 13, 2023
The Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS) released the following statement about another collapsed oceanfront home in Rodanthe on March 13.
“Cape Hatteras National Seashore visitors should use caution when participating in recreational activities on the beach and in the ocean near East Point Drive in Rodanthe, North Carolina, due to debris from a collapsed one-story house.
“The bulk of the debris is at the site of the collapsed house, located at 23228 East Point Drive, Rodanthe. The [CHNS] is communicating with the owner of the house to coordinate the removal of the house and all related debris on the beach.”
In the wake of the collapse of a number of Rodanthe homes in the past year, several local officials, including Dare County Manager Bobby Outten and CHNS Park Supervisor Dave Hallac, met with Rodanthe community members in January to discuss the possibility of implementing a beach nourishment project there to attempt to try to combat beach erosion.
Outten’s message to the group was straightforward, however. Currently there were no funds for a nourishment project in Rodanthe.
About a month later, on Feb. 27, the Threatened Oceanfront Interagency Work Group convened a discussion to examine the issues facing coastal communities, where homes are threatened by storms, water and beach erosion. Much of the discussion concentrated on two issues—how difficult it is to pay for projects and certain areas that are overlooked when addressing the funding needs of coastal communities.
At that meeting, Hallac was blunt about the challenges ahead. “We’re not going to have all the answers,” he told those listening to the meeting online. “But part of the process of having this discussion is to determine where we need more answers. We need better answers, and we need to develop better programs.”
Comments
Charles
The ocean is patient and knows it will win in the end.
Olin Hardy
Man made structures are no match to that ocean!
Steven
Normal event for the 35 years I’ve lived in Rodanthe.
At this point, all of Rodanthe is in jeopardy, both ocean-side and sound-side, Salvo is in jeopardy from the sound-side..
Jay
The debris clean up from the surf must be lucrative. Wouldn’t it make sense to demo the house before it falls in the drink? With one excavator and dump trucks the demo could be done in 1-2 days. If it’s an issue of the insurance company paying for the loss then that rule needs to be changed. How serious should the average citizen be in keeping our ocean & soundside waters clean when you watch a house fall into the ocean?
Wahoo
Dare to Live the Impossible Dream…
Mother Nature did not build the homes, nor own them. Nor will she take them down responsibly.
Disgusting and dangerous debris in our beautiful ocean. How’s that Septic Tank doing?
No risk assessment, no oversight, no planned removal.
Owners, Insurance, Neighborhood, Town, County, State, Federal. DEM, NPS. All pondering. It should all be eminent-domained. NPS property. Return it to to Mother Nature, beachgoers, fishing, surfing, shelling.
Chris
@ jay it’s all about insurance pay off.act of God before you get paid. It would be nice if you could Demo it and get paid,but that’s not how it works
Czarina
Just like in Kitty and South Nags Head, owning oceanfront property is nice, as long as you realize it is for a limited time. We know the beaches were much bigger when these properties were purchased. But Mother Nature continues to repossess.
Reid
There goes one more source of taxable revenue for local and state government. Everyone needs to realize that everytime we lose a house to the ocean the infrastructure that has been set up based on that revenue will now come from somewhere else. We set it up, allowed it to be built and now we don’t want to take care of it. When it’s gone, it’s gone, and we, the North Carolina taxpayer, will pay the difference. The infrastructure will remain, and grow bigger, while the revenue dwindles.
surffshr
pretty greedy and irresponsible just to let those homes fall into the ocean
Greg
There was no news about houses falling into the ocean in Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head and Hatteras Island in the 60s, other than the coverage of the meteorological benchmark storm on Ash Wednesday 1962, 70s , 80s, 90s. The houses and motels fell and they were gone. Buildings have been washing away in Rodanthe for decades. Building on the oceanfront is a risk.
Grant
FYI, even a normal demolition requires an EPA environmental inspection and permit. Because hazardous materials like Asbestos, Lead, and other PCB’s are accounted for and removed before workers and the public are exposed to them. But in this case, let Mother Nature distribute it…
Charles
Some great comments about how Mother Nature reclaims. Never heard those before…….
Michael
The NPS (and the locals) would never stand for this kind of pollution, destruction and hazard in any other NPS jurisdiction in the United States, period.
Bill
“Life On A Sandbar” has some downsides.
surf123
No loss of tax revenue other than property tax as the house has not been rented in several years. On the upside one less house to rent means rental prices will increase to accommodate high demand for a shrinking resource (rental homes). A bonus is a car or two less driving around every week. The only solution is to let them fall.
Travis
Beware the tides of March (if you’re a homeowner in Rodanthe).
Charles
Ramp 23 south of Salvo is now closed due to the clean up. There is a pile getting larger by the hour in the parking lot.
Makes for an excellent eyesore.
Pete
Good article in Washington post a couple of days ago. One of the houses on the edge was just purchased last year by a couple from Colorado. Had to have been a bottom feeding, low life realtor to assist in that sale.