Another beach home has collapsed in the Outer Banks, marking the sixth house to fall in Rodanthe this year.

The home at 23241 Surf Side Drive in Rodanthe collapsed late Thursday night into Friday, according to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It was unoccupied at the time.

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Poor weather conditions at the beach on Friday are slowing cleanup efforts, and N.C. Highway 12 is closed between the Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe.

The beach in front of Rodanthe is temporarily closed due to hazardous debris. The Seashore is urging visitors to avoid the beach and ocean for potentially many miles to the south of Rodanthe.

Multiple other houses along the Outer Banks have fallen into the ocean since 2020, including six in 2024.

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore is also monitoring unoccupied threatened structures at G A Kohler Court and Sea Oats Drive.

According to WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth, a strengthening low pressure system brought in a strong northerly wind. The wind helped to drive water from the sound over part of the Outer Banks and may have contributed to the home's collapse.

"Most of the homes that have collapsed this year have done so with a tropical system nearby," Wilmoth explained. "While this isn't a tropical low, it's a powerful low that caused the same impact."

Oceanfront homes at the Outer Banks have been at risk of collapse for years, particularly in Rodanthe, due to erosion. WRAL News has reported extensively on these oceanfront homes falling into the ocean, the others still at risk and what's contributing to them collapsing.

Gus Gusler owns a home in Rodanthe. On Friday, he told WRAL News the urgency to move houses, including his, back from the shoreline has never been greater.

"I’m pretty comfortable that, when we get this moved, we’re good for another 25 years," Gusler said.

In September, one oceanfront homeowner in town told WRAL News "there was a football field of beach behind these houses" when they bought their house more than a decade ago.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent Dave Hallac said climate change is exacerbating the natural erosion rates of barrier islands, putting more structures under threat.

"When you add a foot of water or two feet of water, that just makes everything worse," Hallac said.

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