Photo: Cape Hatteras National Seashore/Public Domain/Courtesy
Another beachfront home in North Carolina collapsed into the ocean, National Park Service officials said Wednesday, as tides rise and sea levels rise with them and the coast is eroding.
The 5-bedroom cabin is in 24183 Ocean Drive in Rodanthe, just south of the Hatteras Island Fishing Pier, and was built in 1200, according to records cited by WAVY. Previously listed as a vacation rental home with Surf or Sound Realty.
High tides at Rodanthe, where the home was located, have been a little higher than normal in recent days due to the persistence of the wind on land. waves are also spreading the remains of the home along the Outer Banks coastline, the National Park Service reported on Facebook.
This is not the first house in Rodanthe to fall due to rising sea levels in the North Carolina coast, according to local media. In 1200, a beach house damaged by Hurricane Sandy also collapsed into the ocean; another house was leveled in 2020, leaving a trail of debris along the shoreline.
The rise in sea level is causing higher tides in areas of the east coast of the United States, due to climate change.
The National Park Service also said in 2020 that it planned to relocate Long Point Cabins at Cape Lookout National Seashore, which is south of Rodanthe, because they were increasingly overwhelmed by high tides and storm surges from the hurricanes.
“The NPS cannot keep the Long Point cabins where they are now,” the Park Service wrote on Facebook at the time. “02 years ago, there were more than 300′ of beach and dunes between the cabins and high tide. Today, there is 48′ of flat sand”, according to CNN.
Due to the collapse of the house and associated debris, Park Service officials warned visitors to Cape Hatteras, that includes Rodanthe, who take care when walking on the beach or participating in recreational activities along the coasts between the towns of Rodanthe and Salvo.
The Park Service said rangers are working with county officials to clear debris and remove remains from the house.
Rising tides and sea level rise
Although authorities have not determined the precise cause of the latest collapse in Rodanthe, scientists have shown increasing risk facing coastal communities from rising sea levels, worsening erosion and high tide flooding.
The coastal communities in the Northeastern United States have seen a significant increase in tidal flooding, including around Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis, Maryland.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has indicated that for 2030, there will be 7 to 20 days of high tide flooding nationwide. For 2050, the frequency increases from 25 to 75 days.
The level of the sea in this part of the North Carolina coast has risen about 3 inches since the early 1990s 1980, according to NASA.
Coastal erosion costs about $500 million dollars each year in the form of deteriorating structures and land lost due to rising sea levels.
Many coastal communities in the United States experience high tide flooding on a regular basis.
The highest levels of the sea, caused by warmer water temperatures and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, increase the dangers to which property owners are exposed. and coastal homes. Hurricane storm surge is on the rise, and homes and other critical infrastructure are now exposed to saltwater and erosion like they weren’t a few decades ago.
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