Storm sends one house into ocean, damages others in N.C.

After collapsing into the surf over the weekend, an oceanfront house in Rodanthe, N.C., was being pounded by waves whipped up by a coastal storm.

On Monday afternoon, the house was leaning precipitously into the ocean.

"It kind of gracefully sat down off the pilings," Melvin Stone, president of Surf or Sound Realty on Hatteras Island, said Monday.

Stone said that when he saw the house in the afternoon, the first level that was once 10 feet off the beach was being consumed by the surf.

"It was kind of a sad sight," he said. "Waves were breaking through a window."

Built about five years ago, the six-bedroom house, located about one mile south of the house used in the movie "Nights in Rodanthe," had rented for $5,495 a week during the height of the summer season.

"I don't see how it can be salvaged," Stone said. "I would say it's likely a loss."

A house to the south was also condemned because its pool area was undermined, he said. Additional information about Hatteras Island damage was not available from the county planning office in Buxton.

Ocean overwash at Mirlo Beach forced the Dare County Sheriff's Office to close N.C. 12 near Rodanthe at 11:30 a.m. Monday. The road reopened before 6 p.m. Allen Russell, state Department of Transportation maintenance engineer for Dare and Hyde counties, said Monday afternoon that at least 18 inches of water was sitting on top of 18 inches of sand.

Serendipity, the house used in "Nights in Rodanthe" for exterior shots, is essentially in the ocean but is standing solid, caretaker Murray "Frisco Mo" Clark said. "The house itself has suffered no damage," Clark said. "None whatsoever. But you need a boat to get to it."

Other homes along the Outer Banks coast lost decks, stairs and water service. With the ocean coming up so high on the beach, building inspectors were unable to inspect many properties for damage to septic tanks, a typical problem seen after storms.

In South Nags Head, 24 homes were initially without water service, said public works director Dave Clark. By Monday afternoon, he said, two of those had service restored, and he expected that 17 more would be repaired by to day.

Parts of water lines that serve east-west streets were washed away by the surging surf, he said, including lines to 11 properties on Spencer Street.

"We can't get out to fix them because the ocean is still pretty angry," Clark said.

In Kitty Hawk, parts of N.C. 12 by Wilkins Avenue overwashed Sunday and Monday at high tide around 1 p.m., said William Midgett, Kitty Hawk public works director. Midgett said the road did not close, but signs were put out to warn drivers about the high water.

Midgett said he could not determine the extent of damage to oceanfront properties until the ocean recedes, but it was evident that some homes lost decks and stairs.

Brian Cullen, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Morehead City, called the storm, which blew in Friday, a "garden variety nor'easter," with winds blowing steady as high as 35 mph and gusting to 40 mph.

Forecasters are keeping an eye on the potential for a system off the coast, he said.

"There's a chance for another coastal storm next weekend," he said, "and we'll just wait and see how that develops."

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com