When people built houses in Rodanthe, North Carolina, decades ago, “nobody expected to be here on the ocean,” Frank Colletta told CNN, speaking just steps from the shoreline.
“In the 70s, the beach was another 300 feet out,” Colletta said. But with ongoing erosion, the ocean is on the doorstep — or closer — of many of these homes. Rodanthe is experiencing some of the highest erosion rates in North Carolina, according to a city planning document.
“Mother Nature is undefeated,” Colletta said. “She’s going to eventually win and take these houses.”
Colletta, who has lived in the area since 2009, said while he isn’t too concerned about Erin, he did take some precautions to batten down the hatches at home.
Locals are generally more worried when a storm takes more of an inside track, Colletta said, though people are concerned about Highway 12 – the islands’ primary thoroughfare – being impassable for a few days. And Erin remains a concern for the oceanfront homes, many of which have collapsed into the sea. Others have been moved away from the surf, either on the same or entirely different lots.