Vacation home crumbles into the ocean on Outer Banks. Photos show aftermath on beach
An entire oceanfront home vanished in the dark this week on the Outer Banks, after the sand beneath it fell into the Atlantic.
It happened late Thursday or early Friday in the Dare County community of Rodanthe, and pieces of the home were spread for nearly a half mile along the beach, local officials say.
“While you were sleeping, the Atlantic took down a house. It displaced renters from neighboring homes,” Chicamacomico Banks Water Rescue posted on Facebook.
“Be careful of boards with nails and other hazards littering the water and shoreline. There are also compromised septic tanks in the water. Water activities are not advised in the area of north Rodanthe.”
No injuries were reported. The home, built in 1977, was a rental and not occupied at the time it collapsed, reported the Island Free Press.
The address on Sea Oats Drive was listed as owned by John Redden and Wanda Redden of Mooresville, north of Charlotte, The Coastland Times reports.
It’s believed the house collapsed around 1:30 a.m. Friday, when neighbors called the fire department to report floating “debris banging against the pilings” of other homes, The Times said.
Local officials have feared for years the home would be destroyed by rough waves, resulting in it being condemned months ago, Outer Banks Now reports.
The coastal Facebook group Oregon Island Idiots noted several more homes “are in peril” of collapsing on the same beach.
Photos showed the beach beneath those homes was eaten away, leaving them standing on exposed pilings.
“Loose pilings swaying under the nearby homes,” Epic Shutter Photography reported on Facebook. “You can hear the creaking and cracking of lumber in the surrounding houses that are hanging on.”
The Outer Banks are barrier islands known for their shifting sands, including periods when erosion happens so quickly, it results in large cliffs on beaches.
One of the most popular tourist sites at Cape Lookout National Seashore on the Outer Banks is among the spots in danger, the National Park Service reports.
The “rustic wooden cabins” at Long Point must be moved or face falling into the ocean, the park says.
This story was originally published May 30, 2020 at 6:24 AM with the headline "Vacation home crumbles into the ocean on Outer Banks. Photos show aftermath on beach."