Coastal storm sends more NC beach houses tumbling into the ocean. Here’s an update.
A low-pressure system that has hugged the coast this week dropped five more beach houses into the ocean on Tuesday along the Buxton waterfront and sent sand and water across N.C. 12 on Hatteras Island, forcing closure of the road.
That brings to 16 the total number of homes the sea has claimed in the village since mid-September. In photos and social media posts, debris from the recent collapses lines a section of the oceanfront in the village and the National Park Service says material is strewn for miles southward.
The park service, which manages the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, stretching 70 miles from South Nags Head to Ocracoke Inlet, has closed sections of the beach for visitor safety.
According to the park service, a .15-mile section of beach is closed in Rodanthe and in Buxton, 1.5 miles of the beach is closed.
N.C. DOT said Wednesday that N.C. 12 remained closed between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe, as well as on the north end of Ocracoke Island headed toward the ferry terminal.
“Elsewhere, the highway is open and passable, but expect sand and water on the highway in several spots, so drive with extreme caution,” the park service said.
The ocean also had overwashed secondary roads in the village of Avon and Rodanthe, NCDOT said. Crews were working Wednesday morning to push back the water and sand before the afternoon’s high tide.
Officials cautioned drivers on Wednesday not to travel during the hour immediately before or after high tide.
Why don’t owners tear down threatened beach houses before they fall?
Most beachfront homes are insured through the National Flood Insurance Program, which pays up to $250,000 for a structure and up to $100,000 for its contents, but only after the house has collapsed.
A proposal has been made to restore a provision to the NFIP allowing owners to collect on a claim on a house in imminent danger of collapsing before it falls, helping to cover the cost of demolition or moving the house back from the shoreline.
Congress has not approved the proposal.
Did Hurricane Melissa cause the NC houses to collapse?
No. Hurricane Melissa was battering Jamaica, more than 1,000 miles away, when houses began falling Tuesday morning in Buxton.
The weather that brought northeasterly wind gusts of up to 50 mph and waves 15 to 20 feet high, causing new erosion along sections of the N.C. Outer Banks, was a low-pressure system that began affecting the area Monday evening.
Are more houses expected to fall?
Dare County officials say another dozen or so houses are at risk of falling in Buxton and Rodanthe, while several dozen more have been deemed uninhabitable because of issues such as washed-away steps, exposed septic systems and damaged electrical service.
While beach erosion, structural losses and damage to N.C. 12 along the Outer Banks have been cyclical problems for decades, problems have accelerated this year on Hatteras Island. The island was battered by wind and waves from three passing hurricanes — Erin, Humberto and Imelda — followed by a nor’easter earlier in October and the coastal low this week.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the Outer Banks are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surge — effects of climate change — because of the islands’ low elevation and their shifting nature.
Dare County is working to secure permits for a spring 2026 beach renourishment project at Buxton that would protect N.C. 12 in the village and also create some buffer for beachfront homes.
This story was produced with financial support from the Hartfield Foundation and Green South Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. If you would like to help support local journalism, please consider signing up for a digital subscription, which you can do here.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 12:20 PM with the headline "Coastal storm sends more NC beach houses tumbling into the ocean. Here’s an update.."
