A mans Hawaiian oceanfront house has collapsed into the ocean - and now the state is suing him for allowing it to happen.
Heart-stopping footage shared on social media earlier this week showed the home on Oahus North Shore breaking apart and collapsing into the crashing waves.
Homeowner Josh VanEmmerik, 31, is the owner of a bar called Gaslamp in Kailua and he grew up in the area.
The house was his dream - a slice of Hawaiian oceanfront heaven.
But after being accused of multiple violations including failing to properly protect it, he is now being sued for allowing its structure to float into the ocean.
A mans Hawaiian oceanfront house has collapsed into the ocean - and now the state is suing him for allowing it to happen
Homeowner Josh VanEmmerik is the owner of a bar called Gaslamp in Kailua and he grew up in the area
As the structure crumbled, a neighbor who took the video could be heard warning onlookers: Be careful where youre standing. The whole roof is gonna come down right now.
The legal complaint argues that the moment the house collapsed, its debris became unwanted material on state-owned land.
In Hawaii, all beaches up to the high-tide mark are public property.
On September 24, 2024, large pieces of cement, wood, glass, electrical components, rebar, geotextile fabric, and other unidentified solid materials cover the State land spanning between the property boundary line and the ocean, the complaint claims.
The filing continued, stating that an unknown quantity of solid material from the dwelling on Subject Property 2 entered the ocean and were taken away from the location due to the oceans natural processes.
The lawsuit is seeking an injunction to force the removal of debris in addition to financial compensation.
The state plans to restore the beach to its natural condition for the publics use and enjoyment, the outlet reported.
Demolition began Thursday for the house. Excavators were seen tearing down the remaining parts of the property, as debris from Tuesdays collapse continued to be tossed into the ocean.
The house before it collapsed into the ocean
As the structure crumbled, Instagram user kevin_makana_emery who took the video, can be heard warning onlookers, Be careful where youre standing. The whole roof is gonna come down right now. The video shows glass, metal, and wood collapsing into the ocean
Instagram user kevin_makana_emery, who shared the shocking video on Wednesday, captioned it: The State of Hawaii officials couldve prevented this! But they did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
He pleaded with the state to take action.
This situation has been going on for years now. Why are you NOT here cleaning this up!!! Talking about EXTREMELY DANGEROUS to our community members. broken glass, metal, nails, BS covering the entire beaches and reefs as we speak.
The video reveals the devastation scene of destruction, with glass, metal, and wood strewn across the sandy beach and pushed into the ocean.
This is the beach that my daughter plays. Its literally covered in broken glass, he added.
Dozens of viewers weighed in on the situation.
One commenter argued: Legally its not the states problem. Its the property owners issue. Its like blaming the government if lightning hits a house and it burns down.
Others, however, sided with the homeowners. Its very sad to see this. The governments negligence is real and it kills many innocent people. Its even sadder for the families in the region.
Another concerned viewer commented: Worried for all that dangerous glass and things that can go right through your body if you step on them or fall on them! Take lotta pictures!! send it to the mayor.
The state of Hawaii has now filed a civil lawsuit against the homeowner, seeking damages for the beachfront catastrophe
In December 2023, The Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources slapped VanEmmerik with a whopping $77,000 fine for erosion control violations in front of his Sunset Beach home
Deputy Attorney General Danica Swenson told HawaiiNewsNow: Private landowners take a risk when they allow structures to be so close to the shoreline.
The people of Hawaii are now confronted with the consequences of property owners failures to take heed of the oceans warning signs of erosion.
In December 2023, The Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources slapped VanEmmerik with a whopping $77,000 fine for erosion control violations in front of his Sunset Beach home, as reported by Spectrumlocalnews.
The violations stemmed from a series of unauthorized attempts to save his property from the encroaching ocean.
Last year, VanEmmerik allegedly placed small polypropylene sandbags on top of older, failed erosion control measures, then poured concrete over the bags and placed rocks on the beach, as reported by KITV.
All those against broke the law in the State Land Use Conservation District.
Despite a settlement agreement requiring the removal of all unauthorized structures by September 30, 2023, Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL) staff reported finding debris in the sand.
A neighbor, Ken Bradshaw told Island News at the time that the erosion was inevitable.
It was going to happen no matter what, erosions going to take place - this particular beach at the North Shore is seriously prone to summer erosion, not winter erosion, trade wind summer swells come and move everything toward Waimea, this is an ongoing thing, Ive been in my house 40 years, Ive seen everything.
There was an old Hawaiian family that had property originally from Wahiawa, they finally sold it to a guy who was overly zealous and thought he could prevent it (damage) from happening and I warned him myself three times - do not buy this property, he added.
OCCL Administrator Michael Cain emphasized the importance of protecting Hawaiis beaches.
The beaches are held in public trust by the state for the people of Hawaii, its the DLNRs responsibility to protect these resource, he said at the time.