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Cape Hatteras National Seashore Outlines Cleanup Efforts After Houses Collapse

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Compiled From NPS Releases

Published Date

September 27, 2024

Cape Hatteras National Seashore staff work to offload house collapse debris at off-site staging area / NPS

After three unoccupied beachhouses crumbled and fell into the sea, Cape Hatteras National Seashore has partnered with a local contractor to pick debris from 20 miles of beaches. Beach closures remain while cleanup efforts continue. Below is an update of those ongoing efforts. 

Status of beach closures and safety precautions

  • For public safety, the beach is closed from G A Kohler Court through Sea Haven Drive in Rodanthe, approximately four-tenths-of-a-mile.

  • Most pieces of large debris have been removed from the beach adjacent to Sea Haven Drive and to the south. Small debris, including potentially nail-ridden wooden debris, is still present on the beaches in reduced quantities.

  • There isn’t a timetable for restoration of the beach, due to the potential for additional debris to wash ashore or become exposed as the sand shifts.

  • During the cleanup this morning, Seashore employees found a urine specimen cup and parts of used feminine hygiene products on the beach in the tri-villages.

    • These items are characteristic of medical waste that was found on beaches in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia over the last month.

    • No other observations of apparent medical waste have been documented along the Seashore.

    • The U.S. Coast Guard’s Sector North Carolina has been notified of these observations.

    • Seashore visitors should stay away from apparent medical waste and report observations via email to e-mail us.

  • Due to the remaining debris and this morning’s discovery of apparent medical waste, the Seashore urges visitors to wear hard-soled shoes on the beach from Rodanthe to many miles to the south.

Review of house collapse debris cleanup efforts

  • Not long after the first house collapsed on Sept. 20, Seashore employees began supplementing contractor cleanup efforts by hand collecting and forming many piles of debris above the high tide line.

  • From Sept. 22 through this morning, Seashore employees removed hand-collected debris in pickup trucks. In total, the Seashore has removed a total of more than 60 pickup truck loads of debris from beaches spanning approximately 20 miles.

  • In addition to hand collecting debris for removal, Seashore employees have used chainsaws to cut large house pilings into manageable pieces for contractor removal.

Review of recent house collapses

House collapse debris collected along the dune in Rodanthe / NPS

 

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