A house on the oceanfront in Rodanthe was destroyed by the Atlantic Ocean overnight, resulting in a large debris field and dangerous materials all along the adjacent shoreline, per a Friday morning social media update from Chicamacomico Banks Water Rescue.
The collapsed house at the end of Sea Oats Drive was a vacation rental home that was built in 1977, and the incident displaced renters from neighboring homes.
The debris field stretches along the shoreline from Sea Oats Drive, (across from the Liberty gas station), all the way to the northern Rodanthe town borders through the S-turns. Only a couple of pilings and exposed septic remnants and plumbing remain of the original structure.
Beachgoers in the Rodanthe area are advised to be careful of boards with nails and other hazards littering the water and shoreline. There are also compromised septic tanks in the water, and water activities are not advised in the northern Rodanthe area.
Northern Rodanthe is prone to beach erosion and ocean overwash, especially during storms. The house was unoccupied during the incident, and no injuries were reported as of Friday morning.
This is normal, and is a man made issue. But folks sure like to make a fuss over it.
Several more houses are “on deck” so more will most likely fall in the coming weeks. This was not expected given there have not been amount of run up from larger waves (or large waves for that matter). The first substantial nor’easter or hurricane swell will clean up the end of Sea Oats. I saw an owner of one of the houses close to being surrounded by water at low tide power washing their deck. I’d equate that to rearranging the deck chairs.