“These homes collapsing is not a surprise,” Dave Hallac, the national seashore’s superintendent, tells ’s Catherine Kozak. The two homes that fell this week were on that list, reports CNN’s Jamiel Lynch and Jennifer Henderson.

And though the federal government spends $150 million, on average, each year to help mitigate the erosion, many areas are still watching their beaches disappear at an alarming rate- 25 to 50 feet per year, depending on the region.Īfter a seaside house fell along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on February 9, Dare County and park service officials identified 11 other homes that were also in danger of collapsing. Since the early 1980s, the sea level along some parts of North Carolina has risen by roughly three inches, according to NASA, and more broadly, coastal erosion causes roughly $500 million in property loss in the United States each year.Ĭoupled with severe weather, like the nor'easter that rocked the Outer Banks this week, beach erosion poses a serious threat to homes that are close to the water. National Park Service (NPS) officials say the homes fell because of beach erosion and high water levels, strong winds and dangerous currents brought on by stormy weather.Īs sea levels rise because of melting glaciers and ice sheets, coastal communities like Rodanthe face increased risk of damage as the water erodes the shoreline. The unoccupied home was the second to collapse this week-and the third to topple this year-in Rodanthe, North Carolina, at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

A dramatic video made the rounds on the internet this week: It showed a taupe house, perched on wooden stilts, tumbling into the Atlantic Ocean and being tossed around by waves like a toy.

Cape hatteras national seashore