News Release

Cape Hatteras National Seashore provides update on cleanup efforts following September house collapses

Cape Hatteras National Seashore staff work to offload house collapse debris at off-site staging area.

NPS

News Release Date: September 26, 2024

Contact: Mike Barber, 252-475-9032

MANTEO, N.C. — Following the recent collapses of three unoccupied houses on G A Kohler Court in Rodanthe, Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) employees and a contractor have worked together to clean approximately 20 miles of beach.

Status of beach closures and safety precautions

• For public safety, the beach is closed from G A Kohler Court through Sea Haven Drive in Rodanthe, approximately four-tenths-of-a-mile.

• Most pieces of large debris have been removed from the beach adjacent to Sea Haven Drive and to the south. Small debris, including potentially nail-ridden wooden debris, is still present on the beaches in reduced quantities.

• There isn’t a timetable for restoration of the beach, due to the potential for additional debris to wash ashore or become exposed as the sand shifts.

• During the cleanup this morning, Seashore employees found a urine specimen cup and parts of used feminine hygiene products on the beach in the tri-villages.

  • These items are characteristic of medical waste that was found on beaches in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia over the last month.

  • No other observations of apparent medical waste have been documented along the Seashore.

  • The U.S. Coast Guard’s Sector North Carolina has been notified of these observations.

  • Seashore visitors should stay away from apparent medical waste and report observations via email to e-mail us.

• Due to the remaining debris and this morning’s discovery of apparent medical waste, the Seashore urges visitors to wear hard-soled shoes on the beach from Rodanthe to many miles to the south.

Review of house collapse debris cleanup efforts

• Not long after the first house collapsed on Sept. 20, Seashore employees began supplementing contractor cleanup efforts by hand collecting and forming many piles of debris above the high tide line.

• From Sept. 22 through this morning, Seashore employees removed hand-collected debris in pickup trucks. In total, the Seashore has removed a total of more than 60 pickup truck loads of debris from beaches spanning approximately 20 miles.

• In addition to hand collecting debris for removal, Seashore employees have used chainsaws to cut large house pilings into manageable pieces for contractor removal.

Review of recent house collapses

• On Sept. 20, Seashore law enforcement rangers responded to an early morning, unoccupied house collapse at 23001 G A Kohler Court in Rodanthe, North Carolina.

• Seashore law enforcement rangers responded to the collapse of the house at 23009 G A Kohler Court shortly after 9:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20.

• Seashore law enforcement rangers responded on Tuesday, Sept. 24 to a 1:08 p.m. Dare County dispatch call regarding a house collapse at 23039 G A Kohler Court in Rodanthe.

• Learn more about the threatened oceanfront structures that border the Seashore at: go.nps.gov/cahatos.

House collapse debris collected along the dune in Rodanthe.

NPS