Cleanup continues on Saturday and expands to Rodanthe after Friday evening home collapse

Cleanup operations in Buxton and Rodanthe are continuing this weekend after a ninth unoccupied oceanfront house collapsed on Hatteras Island Friday evening, according to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS).

The most recent collapse occurred shortly before 6 p.m. at 23047 G.A. Kohler Court in Rodanthe, marking the first Rodanthe collapse of 2025 and adding to a growing list of oceanfront structures lost to persistent surf and erosion.

Friday’s cleanup began in Buxton, where eight houses had collapsed over the past three days, leaving widespread debris fields stretching south toward Cape Point.

Roughly three dozen National Park Service staff worked alongside private contractors and volunteers from the Cape Hatteras United Methodist Men (CHUMM) and the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association (NCBBA) to remove piles of scattered building materials, appliances, and household items from the shoreline. Bulldozers and heavy equipment were brought in to clear larger debris, while volunteers focused on collecting smaller items and assisting with logistics.

Hallac noted that several homeowners in Buxton have already received the necessary permits to hire contractors for private debris removal, and that permits are being issued quickly to keep cleanup moving.

NPS personnel are now expanding their efforts north to Rodanthe in response to Friday’s house collapse, which generated a new debris field on the beach in front of the Ocean Drive area that extends all the way to the Rodanthe Pier.

Park officials say the beach around both Buxton and Rodanthe collapse sites remains extremely dangerous due to unstable debris, exposed septic systems, and the possibility of additional structural failures. Visitors are urged to avoid walking or driving near damaged houses and debris piles. “The debris is waist- to chest-high in terms of some of these piles, and in other areas, it’s a heavy density of scattered debris,” said David Hallac, Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent, on Friday.

The sequence of house collapses began in mid-September and has accelerated during a prolonged coastal swell event, fueled by distant hurricanes and persistent northeast winds.

20 homes on Hatteras Island have collapsed since 2020, including 10 in Buxton in the past several weeks alone. The resulting debris poses immediate environmental and navigational hazards, as well as safety risks to beachgoers.

Cleanup in Buxton is expected to take days and weeks as new debris becomes exposed by shifting sand and tides. National Park Service crews will continue working alongside county contractors and volunteer groups through the weekend, weather permitting. “It may take a while to clean everything,” Hallac said Friday. “As blowing sand uncovers more debris, we’ll have to find and remove those materials too.”