RODANTHE, N.C. (WAVY) — More homes in Rodanthe are on the verge of collapsing into the ocean as the National Park Service is calling on property managers to make daily checks on them.
According to the Outer Banks Association of Realtors, National Park Service Superintendent Dave Hallac contacted them early Tuesday evening calling on property managers to be aware of the highly hazardous situation unfolding in Rodanthe.
With the collapse of a third home earlier this week, the situation is “extremely dangerous,” with debris in the water and scattered on long stretches of beach.
Hallac reportedly told the realty group that “the house that fell this afternoon hit two others and they are now in imminent danger of collapsing in the next several hours,” and there are also numerous exposed septic systems in Buxton. Park Service rangers have also reported children playing near exposed septic fields.
The realty group said Hallac is concerned about visitors not understanding the risks with the changing conditions.
He told them that some homes that are certified for occupancy could be impacted before Dare County inspectors can perform their daily inspections. Property managers, he told them, can also check with his office for reports if they can’t physically visit the sites themselves.
The collapse of the home at 23039 G A Kohler Court is the third house to collapse in Rodanthe since Friday, and the 10th home in the past four years.
In August, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management and the National Park Service’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore released a report, “Managing Threatened Oceanfront Structures: Ideas from an Interagency Work Group,” which highlighted financial assistance opportunities, the role of public and private insurance and legal and regulatory authorities.
The workgroup reached a conclusion that there needs to be continued collaboration to address the issue, “which will inevitably continue and worsen considering sea level rise forecasts.”
“Over the last few years, several homes on our coast have collapsed into the ocean creating environmental hazards and costly cleanups,” said DEQ Secretary Elizabeth S. Biser in a statement. “There is a clear need for additional proactive tools and programs to support local, state and federal efforts to address structures threatened by erosion before they collapse.”
Some short- and long-term ideas that came out of the work group include:
- Consider leveraging and expanding North Carolina’s efforts to acquire, relocate or remove imminently threatened structures through existing programs such as the N.C. Public Beach and Waterfront Access Grants Program.
- Federal and state land management agencies may benefit from additional authorities, funding, and partnerships with local government and others to acquire, relocate, or remove imminently threatened oceanfront structures.
- Consider authorizing a new, state program with funding dedicated to addressing threatened oceanfront structures.
- Beach communities may consider establishing their own buy-out or financial assistance programs under their own authorities and rules.
- House owners and prospective buyers may benefit from additional information on erosion risks and costs under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
- Flood or other insurance programs could implement proactive strategies to address threatened structures before they collapse.
- Consider reducing the costs of erosion-driven damages to the NFIP by mitigating erosion exposure.
- Clarify N.C. Coastal Resources Commission rule language regarding required relocation of threatened structures to address specific circumstances.
- Consider additional disclosure requirements so that potential property owners are informed about property history and risks.
- Owners and State or local government agencies could benefit from clarified guidance on when officials would have justification to require erosion-threatened structure removal/relocation from oceanfront beaches under existing state law.
- Develop strategies related to the enforcement of state and federal laws governing erosion-threatened structures along an ambulatory interjurisdictional boundary
It said that, currently, the N.C. Public Beach and Waterfront Access Grants Program, which priorities acquiring erosion-threatened properties, gets limited funds — about $1.5 million per year to be used coastwide — through an allocation from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund. but annual funding requests from local governments usually come in at more than $3 million.
If the amount of money increased through a pilot program, it said, the Division of Coastal Management, or DCM, could partner with local governments and property owners to ID opportunities to remove threatened structures, which would result “in new or enhanced beach access sites.”
“If DCM were to work with local governments to include one new access site per year that included the removal of 3-4 structures at an average demolition cost of $120,000 per structure, the program would need an additional $360,000 to $480,000 per year to remove these structures and restore public access. This could be particularly meaningful in areas with limited existing access points, and in highly eroding inlet areas.”