RODANTHE, N.C. — Crews have started tearing down "threatened oceanfront structures" within North Carolina's Outer Banks, beginning with a home in Rodanthe on Wednesday.
A spokesperson with Cape Hatteras National Seashore confirmed to 13News Now that authorities hired a contractor to demolish two separate properties in Rodanthe. These structures were determined to pose a safety risk as coastal erosion impacts much of the coast.
Removal efforts began on a home at 23292 East Beacon Road on Wednesday. A neighboring home, located at 23298 East Beacon Road, was demolished on Thursday.
In March, a house located a block south of these Rodanthe homes collapsed, according to Mike Barber, the spokesperson for the Seashore.
Wind, waves, rising seas and storms have all led to erosion of the Seashore, specifically near the villages of Rodanthe and Buxton. Throughout the year, many of these homes situated atop pilings are partially or fully covered by water, park officials said.
13News Now was the only media outlet on site during the controlled collapse of the second home.
"These homes have been affected by erosion and have been for quite some time now, but we're looking to have the situations mitigated before a catastrophic collapse on its own," said David Hallac, superintendent for National Parks in the Eastern North Carolina region.
The National Park Service (NPS) bought the two aforementioned homes on East Beacon Road without using taxpayer money, thanks to the National Park Trust and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The purchase was part of a pilot program.
"During severe weather events, which the Outer Banks of North Carolina experiences throughout the year, privately-owned oceanfront houses in vulnerable areas get battered by strong winds and large waves, leading to the collapse of four houses in recent years," the NPS website said.
RELATED: Seeking solutions by the sea: Options discussed for people living with coastal erosion consequences
Four of the five homes that collapsed on Seashore beaches since 2020 happened within a 13-month period, NPS reports. Debris from those collapses washed out more than 15 miles into the ocean.
Despite efforts to protect the Seashore, the NPS said owner-initiated cleanup efforts have not "adequately restored beaches," thus forcing the park to implement cleanup activities and seek cost recovery.
In early October, Nationwide non-renewed thousands of policies belonging to North Carolina homeowners, many of them due to hurricane risk.
The majority of the 10,525 policies affected were non-renewed based on a hurricane hazard assessment tool, the North Carolina Department of Insurance (DOI) said. The other policies non-renewed were referred to the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association's (NCIUA) Beach Plan, which ensures property owners in coastal areas can still secure coverage.
As for the next steps on East Beacon Road, the plot of beach affected will be restored, serviced and made into a public access site in the coming weeks, Hallac said.
The superintendent added an evaluation of the pilot program and discussions with partners would have to take place before making a decision on whether to expand it.