Five Outer Banks beach houses collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean within 45 minutes Tuesday afternoon, marking the most destructive day for Hatteras Island since houses began crumbling into the sea five years ago.
The houses in Buxton fell under large swells and rough surf from hurricanes Imelda and Humberto beginning about 2 p.m., with the last collapsing about 2:45 p.m., the National Park Service said in a release. More collapses are possible, officials said.
“Very hazardous conditions are expected to continue over the next 24 hours and visitors should stay away from closed areas,” the release said.
Visitors are also urged to use caution “for miles to the south of the sites, due to the presence of potentially hazardous debris.”
The Outer Banks was under a wind, high surf and coastal flood advisories Tuesday as Humberto and Imelda pass offshore.
The collapsed houses included 46001, 46002 and 46007 Cottage Ave., and 46209 and 46211 Tower Circle Road. No one was injured.
The latest disasters come two weeks after another Buxton home fell into the ocean during a nor’easter, bringing the tally of fallen homes on Hatteras Island to 17 since 2020. Until earlier this month, all of the houses were on the northern end of the island in Rodanthe.
Local, state and federal officials have long struggled with erosion on Hatteras Island, a constantly shifting sandbar that acts to protect the mainland from the impact of coastal storms.
But over the past decade, erosion has accelerated with sections of Rodanthe oceanfront losing 12 to 20 feet of beachfront each year, Dare County officials have said.
Despite years of meetings, studies and unfunded proposals, the National Park Service and Dare County have no solid long-term strategy for how to stop the ocean from reclaiming sections of the island.
Measures proposed by a 2022 work group of federal, state and local officials include grants to help property owners move houses away from the ocean and reforming insurance thresholds, which currently don’t pay out until a house collapses. The county is also working with state lawmakers on funding sources for possible beach nourishment projects.
The N.C. Department of Transportation closed N.C. 12 on the northern end of Ocracoke Island on Tuesday afternoon due to ocean overwash flooding. The Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry is also suspended.
