4 more homes collapse into the ocean during North Carolina's Outer Banks snowstorm
Rough surf from the bomb cyclone snowstorm sent four vacation homes crashing into the ocean on the Outer Banks.
An oceanfront house collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean in the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Feb. 1 as a winter storm brought strong winds, snow, and rough surf to the coast.
Four more homes fell into the surf on the Outer Banks of North Carolina during the weekend coastal snowstorm, according to Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The National Park Service confirmed the collapses on its website, saying that four unoccupied homes collapsed between Sunday and Monday.
The region is prone to severe erosion and has had 31 homes collapse since 2020. The weekend's collapses were the first during the winter months or a snowstorm since 2020. The last homes claimed by the ocean occurred Oct. 28 when high waves from a coastal storm caused five vacation homes fell into the ocean near Buxton, North Carolina.
Each collapse sent massive amounts of debris along the coast, leading to beach closures and costly cleanup.
A home falls into the surf at Buxton, North Carolina, on Oct. 28, 2025 (Epic Shutter Photography)
The 31-home total does not include two additional houses which were threatened by the surf but were manually demolished in 2023.
The Outer Banks of North Carolina—a thin line of islands representing the easternmost part of the state—is hit by multiple nor'easters and hurricanes every year, contributing to ongoing erosion that has caused oceanfront homes to collapse into the sea and inundate Highway 12, which runs along the islands.
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