Richard Foreman’s vacation rental home in Rodanthe, North Carolina, is collapsing into the ocean due to erosion caused by rising sea levels. The house, nicknamed Sea 'n Delight, has been rendered uninhabitable with no means of access or exit after its stairs were washed away. FEMA’s insurance policy provides compensation only after a structure collapses, discouraging proactive demolition which would prevent environmental damage and debris accumulation. With over 100 homes at risk in the next decade according to the National Park Service, the situation highlights the challenge coastal communities face due to climate change and governmental policies that incentivize waiting for disaster instead of preventing it.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
People's houses are collapsing into the ocean.
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houses → collapse → ocean
FEMA gives them no other option
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Richard Foreman's home is stranded in the middle of the beach.
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home → give → beach
The stairs were ripped away by waves years ago, so there's no way in or out anymore.
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stairs → rip → waves
The house is 20 feet into the air, on stilts that were designed to protect it from hurricane storm surge.
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that → design → surge
But there haven't been any big storms recently, just the rising ocean eating away at the sand year after year.
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ocean → rise → year
Like many beachfront houses, it had a nickname: Sea 'n Delight.
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it → have → nickname
Today, the name is gone, and the house is uninhabitable.
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house → go → ?
At low tide, the Atlantic Ocean laps at what used to be the driveway.
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what → lap → tide
At high tide, the ocean runs beneath the entire house.
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ocean → run → house
Foreman knows it will collapse eventually.
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it → know → ?
Four neighboring homes have fallen into the ocean in the last two years.
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homes → neighbor → years
And more than 100 homes on North Carolina's barrier islands are at risk from erosion and sea level rise in the next decade, according to the National Park Service, which manages the area as part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
uncertain
which → accord → Seashore
In June, a high tide coupled with large waves was enough to bring down another house.
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tide → couple → house
FEMA provides most residential flood insurance in the United States.
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FEMA → provide → States
The agency will pay homeowners after a house collapses, but not before.
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house → pay → homeowners
That means owners stand to lose tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars by tearing down a doomed house before the ocean takes it.
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ocean → mean → it
"The homeowner is incentivized to wait for collapse and get a payout," says John Ryan-Henry, a policy analyst at the Coastal States Organization, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of coastal state governments, including those along the Great Lakes.
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that → incentivize → Lakes
And when homes collapse, they pollute the water and leave wreckage on the shore.
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they → collapse → shore
"Unfortunately, there's a lot of debris that comes with these collapses," says Lisa Sharrard, a longtime flood insurance agent in North Carolina who previously served as the chair of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, which is the trade group representing state flood-policy officials.
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which → be → officials
"It leaves a legacy of hazard on the beach.
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It → leave → beach
It's almost impossible to get everything."
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It → get → everything
The National Park Service says it collected more than 480 tons of home debris from the area in the last 18 months alone, some of which washed miles down the North Carolina coast.
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some → say → coast
Foreman's stranded house hasn't been emptied out.
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house → strand → ?
"It looked like we had just left for dinner.
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we → look → dinner
I mean, everything is still in there," says Foreman.
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Foreman → mean → ?
The couches, the refrigerator, every steak knife and beach towel — it's all waiting to fall into the ocean.
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it → wait → ocean
"If they would settle with me for the insurance, I would have it torn down tomorrow," he says.
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he → settle → insurance
As sea level rise from climate change accelerates erosion around the country, there is growing alarm among waterfront homeowners, local officials and even members of Congress.
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rise → accelerate → Congress
More than 30 homes have fallen into the sea in coastal North Carolina alone since 2020.
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homes → fall → 2020
Neighborhoods in Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois, Virginia and California are facing similar threats.
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Neighborhoods → face → threats
Just last week, erosion exacerbated by a storm caused catastrophic damage to multiple homes in Southern California.
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erosion → exacerbate → California
"People should not have to wait for their home to collapse into the water before they can get help," says Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine.
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Pingree → have → help
"That is just not a smart way to deal with the reality of climate change."
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That → deal → change
FEMA says it cannot change the rules for threatened properties unless Congress amends the laws that govern the National Flood Insurance Program.
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that → say → Program
Such a bill was introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in 2025, but it is stalled in the House of Representatives.
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it → introduce → Representatives
FEMA did not respond to questions from NPR about the cost to taxpayers of letting homes collapse.
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homes → respond → taxpayers
Waves remove sand and rock from some areas and deposit them in others.
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Waves → remove → others
Climate change is accelerating that natural erosion unevenly.
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change → accelerate → erosion
Although global warming affects the entire planet, sea levels are rising more quickly in some regions because of ocean currents and the complex dynamics of melting glaciers and ice caps.
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levels → affect → glaciers
Some of the fastest sea level rise in the world is occurring on the East Coast of the United States.
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Some → occur → States
…and 74 more, not listed.
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