Six houses on North Carolina’s Outer Banks collapsed into the ocean Tuesday as two offshore hurricanes churned up heavy surf.
Five of the homes in the community of Buxton collapsed within 45 minutes during high tide in the afternoon, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore said in a post on social media. Another home in the same town collapsed overnight.
All six homes were unoccupied at the time. According to Dare County Planning Director Noah Gillam, they were among 35 structures that had been “decertified for occupation” since late August, when Hurricane Erin was kicking up strong waves along the same coast.
Since 2020, 18 private homes throughout the Outer Banks have fallen into the Atlantic Ocean, as rising sea levels climb over the beaches. The collapses, often captured on video, have become a symbol of climate change nationwide.
The first 11 collapses occurred in Rodanthe, about 20 miles north of Buxton, while the last seven happened in Buxton. A different home in the town fell into the ocean two weeks ago.
Two hurricanes, Humberto and Imelda, helped generate the most recent house-crushing waves, according to meteorologists. The National Weather Service issued coastal flood warnings for the entire Outer Banks island chain.
In 2024, a joint federal, state and local report found 750 of the nearly 8,800 oceanfront structures in North Carolina are at risk due to erosion, and the best options for protecting them are prohibitively expensive.
With News Wire Services
