If you thought climate change or the housing market were getting any better, one short video may change your mind.
The Cape Hatteras National Seashore account shared a disturbing video. It depicts an unoccupied house on the seashore collapsing into the ocean.
A grim reminder of the future under our current climate course.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) has confirmed that an unoccupied house at 24265 Ocean Drive, Rodanthe, N.C. collapsed this afternoon. This is the second unoccupied house collapse of the day at the Seashore. Read more: https://www.nps.gov/caha/learn/news/second-house-collapses-at-cape-hatteras-national-seashore.htm\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/OMoPNCpbzk— Cape Hatteras National Seashore (@Cape Hatteras National Seashore) 1652207067
The clip shows a home on stilts being washed away from its beachfront location. It slowly drifts into the ocean, untethered from the land.
The story was then picked up by Tolly Taylor, and investigative reporter who connected the collapsed building with a Zillow listing.
An unoccupied house on stilts in Rodanthe, North Carolina, as it collapses into the ocean this afternoon. \nWas worth $381,200 according to Zillow.pic.twitter.com/RxkgOkBIv0— Tolly Taylor (@Tolly Taylor) 1652215521
The house was recently valued at $381,200 by Zillow’s Zestimate. This led to a lot of discussion about the problems with the housing market.
And despite some people blaming the house being built too close to the water, it wasn’t initially.
According to one user, the house was initially built much further from the coast. But due to coastal erosion, the shoreline came to the house, making it ripe for destruction.
A coastal storm rolled in, causing big waves to hit the area. The end result is the clip you see above.
However, for a while after the reporting, Zillow still hadn’t updated, leading many to joke about the scenario.
Zillow now estimates this house boat is worth $489,350https://twitter.com/TollyTaylor/status/1524128479394029571\u00a0\u2026— Scott Wasserman (@Scott Wasserman) 1652273681
Ahahaha in California they would charge 3.5 million for that— Ireland Reid \u269c\ufe0f (@Ireland Reid \u269c\ufe0f) 1652283305
Zillow listing:\nHow it started How it ended pic.twitter.com/iVIC5jNu9u— Abolish dystopian carnage (@Abolish dystopian carnage) 1652277068
Zillow's algorithm just bought it for $40k over asking price, no inspection.https://twitter.com/TollyTaylor/status/1524128479394029571\u00a0\u2026— Patrick S. Tomlinson (@Patrick S. Tomlinson) 1652272238
fish moving in rn— oh no he didn\u2019t (@oh no he didn\u2019t) 1652274993
Yes! I actually said \u201cwhat in the Lemony Snicket\u2019s\u201d— Ira Snave (@Ira Snave) 1652237574
But the real case here is that climate change has exacerbated extreme weather conditions.
The house in that clip wasn’t the only one to get swallowed by the ocean. Another one earlier that day collapsed on the shore.
While it’s difficult to tie direct blame to climate change, the issues it causes, from erratic weather patterns, extreme storms, and rising water levels, all contributed to the conditions that caused the building to collapse.
The house, which was often rented out as a vacation home, was originally built a few hundred yards from the coastline. Seeing the house so close to the shore in the clip is eye popping.
This led to a lot of discussion on the effects of climate change.
I know we all want to dunk on Zillow, but maybe the bigger talking point should be sea level rise and climate change https://twitter.com/tollytaylor/status/1524128479394029571\u00a0\u2026— sarah (@sarah) 1652285186
So, basicallypic.twitter.com/h6wOBYI1HE— nomz (@nomz) 1652282714
I just know these people in North Carolina are panicking now lol. \n#zillow #NorthCarolina #rodanthe #climatechangepic.twitter.com/mn8y9qJuJS— HairyPawTar \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf65 (@HairyPawTar \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf65) 1652286176
Friendly reminder that #climatechange threatens #buildings, and #buildings exacerbate climate change! \nAs ocean levels rise, this will only become more common. The solution comes from us. \n#ClimateActionNow #climatetech #zillow #smartbuildings #smartcity #buildingtech #Buildinghttps://twitter.com/TollyTaylor/status/1524128479394029571\u00a0\u2026— Onboard (@Onboard) 1652284696
Isn\u2019t this the shot used in every disaster movie about climate change? #Zillowhttps://twitter.com/tollytaylor/status/1524128479394029571\u00a0\u2026— M E L L Y med. (@M E L L Y med.) 1652282243
And it brought up the ever-relevant clip of Ben Shapiro getting owned when he suggested people on the coast could just sell their houses if climate change got too bad.
Time to dust off the @Hbomberguy video pic.twitter.com/sWzBcCHk0e https://twitter.com/tollytaylor/status/1524128479394029571\u00a0\u2026— Parker Molloy (@Parker Molloy) 1652284340
Cape Hatteras National Seashore has advised visitors to stay away from the beachfront area for now. They promise to update with additional details when they receive it.
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Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for ZFF