6 Beachfront Homes Collapse into Ocean Amid East Coast Storms

Six beachfront properties in North Carolina’s Outer Banks collapsed into the ocean on Tuesday, Sept. 30, according to the National Park Service (NPS). The incident comes as two storms continue to batter the East Coast with rough surf.

On Tuesday, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore was notified of five unoccupied houses collapsing between 2 and 2:45 p.m. local time in Buxton, N.C., per a NPS press release. Authorities were later made aware of another property collapsing around 11 p.m. that evening.

The homes, once held on stilts, were located in a community on the string of islands that make up the Outer Banks. 

According to a statement on Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s social media, there were no bodily injuries reported as a result.

“Seashore visitors are urged to stay away from the collapsed house sites and to use caution for miles to the south of the sites, due to the presence of potentially hazardous debris,” the NPS’ press release read.

As of the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 1, remnants of Hurricane Humberto over the Atlantic Ocean will continue to cause high surf and life-threatening rip currents along the beaches of the East Coast, per the National Hurricane Center. Swells, high surf and dangerous marine conditions are also expected along the East Coast as Hurricane Imelda moves east. 

Since 2020, 18 privately-owned houses have collapsed along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, according to the park service. Properties located on the beach are particularly vulnerable to strong winds and large waves that are typical of severe weather events in North Carolina throughout the year. 

The park service says that many properties adjacent to the beach in Rodanthe previously contained backyard land, dunes or dry sand. Today, they are “either partially or fully covered with ocean water on a regular basis.”

“This is becoming a regular occurrence” Rob Young, director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University, told The Washington Post.

“Often, we hear the refrain from coastal communities that we aren’t going to retreat from the oceanfront,” he continued. “We are retreating, we are just doing it in an unmanaged way, rather than a managed way… We are doing it in the worst possible way.”

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Young told the outlet that collapses like the ones on Tuesday create an eyesore and a safety hazard for public beaches. He said the problem will continue unless policymakers take action.

“This is not just a North Carolina problem,” he said. “There are homes teetering on the edge in a lot of places.”