Home Collapses Into Ocean on North Carolina's Outer Banks

A house collapsed into the ocean Monday on the string of islands just off the coast of North Carolina, according to US 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, the AP reports. 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. 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. "Sea level rise is likely to continue to make these problems worse and make it even more challenging to manage these coastal areas," David Hallac, superintendent of the eastern North Carolina branch of the National Parks Service, tells WRAL.

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