Five Outer Banks homes collapse into Atlantic amid Humberto, Imelda

Five unoccupied homes along North Carolina’s Outer Banks collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean Tuesday afternoon as powerful waves driven by Hurricane Humberto and Tropical Storm Imelda battered the barrier islands, park officials said. The structures gave way within roughly 45 minutes beginning near 2 p.m. in Buxton, a community on Hatteras Island, and there were no reports of injuries, Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials said.

Three of the collapsed homes were neighboring properties on Cottage Avenue and two were adjacent houses on Tower Circle Road, seashore officials said. Video shared by local observers showed elevated homes on pilings rocked by repeated surf before their foundations failed and the buildings slid into the surf. Park officials closed a stretch of shoreline from northern Buxton through off-road vehicle ramp 43 and warned the public to avoid debris-littered areas because of safety hazards.

Coastal flood warnings and dangerous surf advisories remained in effect for parts of eastern North Carolina as the storms churned offshore. The National Weather Service warned that ocean inundation on Ocracoke Island could reach as high as 23 feet above ground level in...