Sad Video Shows Another Outer Banks House Collapsing Into the Ocean

The ocean claimed yet another beachfront home in the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Tuesday, making it the third house to fall in just five days on what was once the residential street of GA Kohler Court in Rodanthe. Two more houses collapsed last Friday, marking a total of 10 houses to fall since 2020.

In footage taken by WTKR News 3, the shingled house can be seen crumpling into the water, nearly taking out the adjacent house, which is also likely not long for this world. With the latest home falling into the ocean, the local news outlet notes that only a few homes on the court are still standing.

Due to the sewage spilling into the ocean from cracked septic tanks, as well as planks of wood and rusty nails littering the beach, residents and visitors have been advised to avoid the stretch of beach in Rodanthe out of safety precautions.

In a press release on Tuesday, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina said that the home was unoccupied at the time and that the owners had hired a debris cleanup contractor to assist with the efforts.

"Swimmers and surfers are urged to stay out the water in front of the villages of Rodanthe, Waves, and Salvo, as there is a large amount of hazardous floating debris being transported by the waves that will cause injuries to those entering the water along the tri-villages area," the statement read. "Additionally, at the north end of Rodanthe and for miles to the south, the Seashore continues to urge visitors to wear hard-soled shoes when walking on the beach to avoid injuries from nail-ridden wooden debris."

News 3 also spoke to Paul Troy, the owner of one of the homes that collapsed on Friday, who said: "We lose sleep over littering the beach." Insurance typically does not cover related expenses until the house actually collapses, limiting owners' abilities to prevent spreading debris from their doomed structures.

Speaking with WRAL 5 News last week, Troy's wife Sharon said that her family had owned the home for 16 years, back when there was "a football field of beach" behind the houses.

"So many people say hateful things [and] ask why we built our house in the middle of the ocean. It was not like this when we bought it," she said at the time. "It wasn’t like this just a few years ago. And, we aren’t rich people. We are hard-working normal people. We can’t afford to move it. There is nowhere to move it. The insurance company won’t pay out until it falls over."

Unfortunately for both homeowners and local officials, the situation is a sad one with no easy solutions, and will only continue to worsen in the area due to climate change.