DARE COUNTY, N.C. -- An oceanfront house on Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Rodanthe collapsed, marking the sixth Seashore house collapse over the past four years, according to the National Park Service (NPS).
WATCH: Cleanup underway after Rodanthe house collapses into ocean
The house was located on Ocean Drive just south of the Rodanthe Pier. NPS says the house likely collapsed around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 28.
The house was unoccupied, NPS says.
WATCH: Some Rodanthe property owners begin process of moving their homes away from the sea
NPS says a cleanup effort is underway to remove debris.
Right now, about a mile of the beach is closed from Sea Haven Drive to South Shore Drive, NPS says. If the debris spreads more, NPS says more beach closures are possible.
NPS is advising people to avoid the beaches north of Sea Haven Drive into the southern portion of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. These beaches are where NPS expects the debris to drift.
Mike Barber, a spokesperson for Cape Hatteras National Seashore tells News 3, “We’ve been monitoring this house over at least the past week. We had been noticing it was leaning."
A contractor was already on-site during the late morning hours, earlier than expected, according to Barber. They are expecting the contractor to use heavy machinery to remove debris. At this time, there are no organized, public cleanup efforts. Barber said that may happen in the coming days.
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News 3 has reported on numerous oceanfront homes collapsing in the Outer Banks in the past few years.
There have been efforts to mitigate the risk, including a recent opportunity that allowed Rodanthe property owners to move their homes further away from the water.
