Beachgoers warned of septic systems emerging from sand in North Carolina’s Outer Banks
The town of Rodanthe, North Carolina, has a notorious reputation as a place where homes crash into the ocean, and the National Park Service is now warning people that remnants of those houses are posing a health threat.
“Cape Hatteras National Seashore ... is advising its visitors to avoid the beach adjacent to Ocean Drive in Rodanthe, due to exposed wires, pipes and septic systems,” the park wrote in a May 16 news release.
“Hazards, such as building materials and parts of septic systems, may also be present in other areas of the beach in Rodanthe, so beachgoers should use caution throughout the beaches in front of the village.”
The park reports it is working on a solution with Dare County officials and the Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative.
Multiple Rodanthe homes have crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in recent years, resulting in nail-filled construction materials being spread for 15 miles or more along National Park Service beaches.
Rodanthe is among the towns hardest hit by relentless beach erosion — a normal part of beach living that has worsened due to rising sea levels, experts say.
In 2022, three homes fell into the ocean and broke apart, one in February and two in May, McClatchy News reported. Another collapsed in March 2023, and the National Park Service purchased two others on East Beacon Road that were in danger of collapsing. Both were torn down in November.
In each case, the homes were built safely away from the surf, but beaches were eaten away during coastal storms, resulting in waves lapping at their foundations.
Rodanthe is about a 215-mile drive southeast from Raleigh.
