Homeowners of North Carolina home that collapsed into ocean sent 'imminent' letter of concern one day earlier

RODANTHE, N.C. — By Monday afternoon, Jake Overton had cleared three truckloads of housing debris from the sands of Mirlo Beach in Rodanthe, North Carolina, after the area's seventh beach house collapse since 2020. 

The housing materials came from a home collapse on Corbina Drive Friday afternoon. It was the second house to fall in 2024 for the Rodanthe community. There were scattered wood pilings as far as 11 miles up the Outer Banks shoreline. 

No one was inside the home at the time, and no injuries were reported.

"We had no idea how it would happen that quick," Overton said.

Officials and homeowners have grappled with how to address the issue of houses at risk of collapsing into the ocean, with pricey solutions such as relocating homes away from the shoreline and beach nourishment. As previously reported by 13News Now, the scope of what could be covered by a person's insurance presents a difficult road to navigate for both homeowners and authorities.

Several houses along Seagull Street nearby suffered damage to the back portions of the homes, ripping decking and pools off the properties.

In a letter obtained by 13News Now, the homeowners of the most recent house collapse reached out to North Carolina leaders and lawmakers just before the eventual fall. 

"Imminent Collapse" letter to NC leaders

The homeowners of the Corbina Drive property penned a letter to several state and regional leaders, including U.S. Congressman Greg Murphy. It's dated August 15, one day before the home's collapse on August 16. It acknowledges the ownership of the Corbina property, and seeks assistance "to mitigate the damage to the seashore through a reduced valuation acquisition."

It requests consideration of the National Park Service acquiring the home at a reduced value. Previously, the NPS had purchased two threatened oceanfront structures on East Beacon Road in Rodanthe. In 2023, the structures had been removed and the adjoining lots opened to the public. 

"We welcome financial assistance from the county, state, and federal levels. We don’t see waiting until our home collapses into the ocean and collecting insurance as a benefit to anyone," the letter reads. 

The letter reveals damage to the property observed as early as March 2024, which led to piling and structural support repairs that were completed in July. It goes on to say impacts from Tropical Storm Debby further eroded the beachfront underneath their home, leading to Dare County declaring the property "unsafe" earlier this August. 

Overton also told 13News that the homeowners had plans to move the home to a different parcel of land on Rodanthe, where it would have sat sound-side. However, it wasn't believed until very recently that the property was at imminent risk of collapsing into the ocean. 

"In their case, they kind of ran out of time. It happened quicker than they thought," he said. "You have the [homeowners] where they're trying to be proactive in trying to move it, get it out of the way but it goes in less than a week."

Pictures show severity of sand and beach erosion

The homeowners of the Corbina Drive property shared pictures with 13News Now of the drastic change of sand and beach erosion in the weeks leading up to the home's eventual collapse.