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Outer Banks | Seven homes collapse as dual hurricanes bring rough surf, strong winds

Crystal Graham
46007 Cottage Avenue Buxton Outer Banks Hatteras
46007 Cottage Avenue. Photo courtesy National Park Service.

A seventh home collapsed in Buxton on Wednesday night, according to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The unoccupied home was located at 46207 Tower Circle Road. Nineteen homes have collapsed on Seashore beaches since 2020.

 

Original story, posted Oct. 1, 2:47 p.m.

While hurricanes Imelda and Humberto did not make landfall in the United States, the storms still delivered destruction along the coast of the Outer Banks.

Rough surf and strong winds from the dual hurricanes caused six homes to collapse near Buxton on Tuesday. All were unoccupied at the time.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina confirmed the damage, reporting that five homes fell on Tuesday between 2 p.m. and 2:45 p.m., and the sixth home collapsed at approximately 11 p.m.

The houses that collapsed were located on Cottage Avenue (46001, 46002, 46007) and Tower Circle Road (46203, 46209, 46211), according to the National Park Service.

Seashore warned visitors to stay away from collapsed home sites and to use caution for miles south of the sites, due to the presence of debris in the water and along the beaches.

The entire beachfront from northern Buxton through ORV (off-road vehicle) ramp 43 is closed for public safety.

One additional home on Tower Circle Road collapsed earlier this year on Sept. 16. Eighteen homes have collapsed on Seashore beaches since 2020.


ICYMI


This is the first hurricane season in 10 years that no hurricanes have made landfall in the U.S. through the end of September. Seven on the previous eight times this occurred, no hurricane made landfall in the U.S. for the entire hurricane season. There have been nine named storms this season.

“Climatologically speaking, around 75 percent of the hurricane season is past, leaving 25 percent of the hurricane season ahead of us, said Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather lead hurricane expert.

On Oct. 15, 12 percent remains, on average. By the start of November, only 3 percent of the hurricane season is left, he said.


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Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is a reporter and ad manager for Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of "Virginia Tonight," a nightly TV news show, both broadcast on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television. You can reach her at [email protected]