RODANTHE, N.C. (WAVY) — Another home in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore area collapsed Friday, this one in Rodanthe.
The Seashore said the home collapse was at 23047 G.A. Kohler Court, the same street where three other home collapses happened just over a year ago.
It’s the ninth home to collapse in the Seashore area this week. The eight previous home collapses this week have happened in Buxton.
Seashore staff said they are responding to the collapse and plan initial cleanup efforts Saturday, Oct. 4. It advises people to stay away from the collapsed home site and use caution for miles south of the site, especially between G.A. Kohler Court and Atlantic Drive due to possibe hazardous debris.
It comes a day after the eighth home collapsed into the ocean in Buxton Thursday afternoon.
Dare County officials were in Buxton Wednesday before to assess the damage and impacts resulting from a pair of offshore hurricanes that produced large swells and helped bring about the collapse of seven other unoccupied homes in just over 24 hours, incuding five homes in less than an hour.
Three of the collapsed homes were on Cottage Avenue, and five others were on Tower Circle Road, according to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, including the collapse of an unoccupied home around 8 p.m. Wednesday at 46207 Tower Circle Road and another collapse of an unoccupied home just before 5 p.m. at 46221 Tower Circle Road.
The wreckage of the sixth house stirred within the mixing piles of debris left behind from the first five houses which fell the day before. Lots of furniture, boards, nails sticking out, hot water heaters and appliances. They float around the ocean and wash ashore in massive piles. It is a mess. Those who have lived here for a long time say they do not recall enduring more than one house collapse in a single day. To have six within 24 hours is unprecedented.
It marks 19 homes that have collapsed on Seashore beaches in the past five years, including a home at 46227 Tower Circle Road in Buxton, as the effects of these and other storms continue to ravage the coast in Rodanthe and Buxton, leaving much to clean up and more to ponder as other homes in the area teeter on the verge of collapse, making this piece of paradise on the Outer Banks look more like a war zone.
Community reaction to collapsing homes
One person who lives in Buxton said they fell one after another, like dominoes.
“It’s crazy,” Drew Tawes said, describing what happened. “We saw one go in and everybody’s phones blew up. Then within an hour, more houses fell in.”
This debris traveled far from just the foundations where these homes once stood. Much of the dune is wiped clean. Driveways are flooded. But some are still keeping a sense of humor, putting up a “no wake” sign near their house. It is not uncommon to see a fridge or rusty propane tank strewn about.
All eyes are on the surrounding houses. A handful are already starting to come apart at the seams.
“It’s so sad,” Lisa told 10 On Your Side. “It’s… really sad.”
One resident described what happened as difficult to witness.
“We’re all kind of predicting that some of these are going to fall,” said resident Jenni Koontz, “but I don’t think we thought five in a row.”
It’s a somber milestone.
“It’s heartbreaking for the homeowners,” Koontz said. “It’s heartbreaking for our community. We kind of saw it coming over the past few weeks since Hurricane Erin.”
The sand is now covered in debris, with pieces of homes scattered along the shore.
“I heard the crunching to the left of me,” Koontz said, “and the yellow house fell, and I got the tail end of it as it was dropping.”
But she can remember a beach that looked much different than it does now.
“They’ve been here for a long time,” most of them,” Koontz said, “and there was many yards of beach in front. Nobody built their house in the ocean. I think that’s a big misconception.”
Koontz fears more could be on the way soon, like a home still standing Tuesday evening, but it’s got a sideways porch that’s getting closer to the ground.
“I feel like we’re not done here,” Koontz said. “And I think this week, there’s going to be many more that fall in.”
Scott Rozier, visiting the area, had just got back from fishing down at the Point and parked down on Old Lighthouse Road when the homes began to collapse.
“I was walking up, and as soon as I got to our driveway, the very first one started to collapse,” Rozier said. “So after that, I called my wife out. We just stepped outside and after that, it was just a chain reaction, debris in the water and everything just started getting tangled up in the other pilings and then the other houses started to fall.
“When this one over here fell,” Rozier said, pointing to a home to his left, “it slammed into this house [next to it], knocked the AC units off, and all the freon was just spewing out everywhere in the water and everything else as well. We actually lost water once the other two houses down here went down because it busted a water main.”
‘We’ve been screaming about this for years’
Some would say this is the audacity of humankind once again getting checked by the mighty forces of mother nature. Long-timers who live here remind those people — the shore used to be several hundred feet further out.
“We’ve been screaming about this for years,” Abby Sigmon said. “Everyone online is saying, ‘Why are you building oceanfront property? Why are you doing that?’ Because the beach was that far away when they were built. It’s just devastating, it’s absolutely devastating. I can’t even hardly look at these waves right now.”
As erosion crept further inland, Sigmon recalls the years of back and forth on what to do with these homes before the shoreline catches up.
“Raleigh’s not listening, D.C. is not listening to you,” Sigmon said. “We’re a really strong community down here, but at the end of the day, it’s like, we can only do so much.”
The site of an old naval base, blamed for pollution and leaving behind foundation exposed by erosion, is very close to where these homes fell. That site looks unrecognizable compared to just a few months prior. The dune is gone, much of the beach is eroded and many chunks of house floated down there to mix with the naval infrastructure.
Next steps — the cleanup
For the people who live on Hatteras Island, their next step is figuring out when and how to clean this up. They fear the fate of the other homes along the shoreline, staying thankful the hurricanes in the forecast did not make landfall. There is a fear floating among the minds of locals — the unthinkable impacts of a direct hit from such a storm.
Dare County plans to have its debris removal contractor evaluate the site when conditions improve, and homeowners of the affected properties are being asked to work with their contractors to move debris from their collapsed homes to the right-of-way located on Old Lighthouse Road. Once there, the county’s contractor will collect and dispose the debris, the county said.
“This is an incredibly difficult situation for these homeowners, for the community of Buxton and for everyone who loves Hatteras Island,” said Bob Woodard, Dare County Board of Commissioners chairman, who visited the site along with board Vice Chairman Steve House, County Manager Bobby Outten and Commissioner Mary Ellon Ballance. “It is critically important that we get this debris cleaned up as quickly and safely as possible. Dare County will do everything possible to work alongside the National Park Service to restore these areas.”
The county’s debris removal contractor is set to visit the site Friday, weather permitting.
The homes that have collapsed
Here’s a list of the 19 privately-owned homes that have collapsed on Seashore beaches since 2020:
- May 29, 2020: An unoccupied house collapsed during the overnight hours at 23238 Sea Oats Drive, Rodanthe.
- February 9, 2022: On a calm winter day, an unoccupied house collapsed at 24183 Ocean Drive, Rodanthe.
- May 10, 2022: During a multi-day nor’easter, an unoccupied house collapsed at 24235 Ocean Drive, Rodanthe. The collapsed occurred during the early morning hours.
- May 10, 2022: During a multi-day nor’easter, an unoccupied house collapsed at 24265 Ocean Drive, Rodanthe. The collapse occurred during the early afternoon hours.
- March 13, 2023: During inclement weather, an unoccupied house collapsed at 23228 East Point Drive, Rodanthe.
- May 28, 2024: An unoccupied house collapsed around 2:30 a.m. at 24131 Ocean Drive, Rodanthe.
- Aug. 16, 2024: An unoccupied house collapsed at approximately 6:50 p.m. at 23214 Corbina Drive, Rodanthe.
- Sept. 20, 2024: An unoccupied house collapsed during the early morning hours at 23001 G A Kohler Court, Rodanthe.
- Sept. 20, 2024: An unoccupied house collapsed during the evening hours at 23009 G A Kohler Court, Rodanthe.
- Sept. 24, 2024: An unoccupied house collapsed during the afternoon at 23039 G A Kohler Court, Rodanthe.
- Nov. 14/15, 2024: An unoccupied house collapsed during the overnight hours of November 14-15 at 23241 Surf Side Drive, Rodanthe.
- Sept. 16, 2025: An unoccupied house collapsed during the afternoon at 46227 Tower Circle Road, Buxton.
- Sept. 30, 2025: The following five unoccupied houses in Buxton collapsed between 2 and 2:45 p.m.: 46001 Cottage Avenue, 46002 Cottage Avenue. 46007 Cottage Avenue, 46209 Tower Circle Road, 46211 Tower Circle Road
- Sept. 30, 2025: Additionally, an unoccupied house collapsed at 46203 Tower Circle Road, Buxton, at approximately 11 p.m.
- Oct. 1, 2025: An unoccupied house collapsed at approximately 8 p.m. at 46207 Tower Circle Road, Buxton.
- Oct. 2, 2025: An unoccupied house collapsed shortly before 5 p.m. at 46221 Tower Circle Road, Buxton.
- Oct. 3, 2025: An unoccupied house collapsed shortly before 6 p.m. at 23047 G.A. Kohler Court, Rodanthe.
The Seashore said it was not aware of any injuries associated with the home collapses.
The beachfront from northern Buxton through the northern section of off-road vehicle ramp 43 is closed for public safety, according to the Seashore. Off-road vehicles using ramps 38 should avoid driving to the south, and anyone using ramp 43 should avoid traveling north, the Seashore said.
Officials are asking people to stay away from the Buxton area along the beach at this time.
And now, the community is left to pick up the pieces.
“I’m not sure how we’re going to be able to clean this up,” Koontz said. “It seems like an overwhelming amount of garbage that has been left here on the beach and the sea.”
Note: The above video aired earlier this month about a previous house collapse Sept. 16 in Buxton.
