5 Outer Banks homes crumble as 2 hurricanes churn in the Atlantic, NC park says

Wind gusts and 12-foot swells joined forces to pull five Outer Banks homes into the ocean as Hurricanes Humberto and Imelda churned the Atlantic, North Carolina officials say.

It happened between 2 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, and the homes were located on Cottage Avenue and Tower Circle Road in Buxton, according to Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Video shared on social media shows pilings holding up the homes snapped, leaving the structures to break apart as they bobbed in the surf and slammed into each other. Walls of debris were seen washing ashore.

None of the homes were occupied and no injuries were reported as of 4 p.m., the National Park Service said.

“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 park reported in a news release.

“This is an ongoing incident; further collapses are possible due to the ocean conditions.”

The fallen homes were located at: 46001 Cottage Avenue; 46002 Cottage Avenue; 46007 Cottage Avenue; 46209 Tower Circle Road and 46211 Tower Circle Road, park officials said.

All five were located precariously close to the ocean, due to beach erosion.

At least 17 homes at Cape Hatteras National Seashore have collapsed into the Atlantic over the past five years, including one earlier in September on Tower Circle Road, officials say.

The collapses occurred as the Outer Banks feels the impact of 45 mph gusts and 12-foot waves associated with Hurricane Humberto, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasters say the strengthening Hurricane Imelda to the south is adding to the rising surf and potential for coastal flooding.

N.C. 12, the major highway connecting the barrier islands, was closed Tuesday at the north end of Ocracoke Island due to “increasing ocean overwash,” the N.C. DOT said. The road is expected to remain closed until Thursday, Oct. 2, state officials said.

The storms are expected to remain offshore, but tropical-storm-force winds are extending more than 200 miles from Humberto’s center, forecasters say.

“Swells from Humberto are likely to cause dangerous surf and life-threatening rip current conditions, affecting … much of the east coast of the United States over the next several days,” the National Weather Service said Tuesday.

This story was originally published September 30, 2025 at 4:56 PM.