How can hurricanes hundreds of miles away cause houses on the NC coast to collapse?

BUXTON, N.C. (WNCN) — The videos from the past few days of houses collapsing and falling into the water along the Outer Banks have been everywhere, but hurricanes Imelda and Humberto were hundreds of miles away from North Carolina. How did they play a role in those structures crashing into the ocean? It’s all about waves.

Powerful hurricanes generate large, damaging waves, and remember, Humberto was at one point a Category 5 hurricane! That means dangerous water conditions. As Imelda eventually formed and started strengthening, that added to the rough waters in the ocean, albeit it hundreds of miles away from our coast.

But waves travel. While North Carolina didn’t get the largest of the waves, they still traveled toward our coastline, impacting vulnerable areas like the Outer Banks.

The houses that fell in Buxton were only about 300 or so feet from the ocean. While normal waves will still cause beach erosion, large, damaging waves from multiple hurricanes can not only cause beach erosion and storm surge, but it can take the sand right out from under these homes more easily.

According to data from Climate Central Coastal Risk Finder, by 2050 — 25 years from now — a coastal flood of just under 3 feet is expected every year for Dare County in North Carolina, putting at least 3,000 homes at risk, according to their data. It’s important to note that this roughly 3-foot flood per year does not include the flooding or coastal impacts due to hurricanes or strong coastal storms. So if more typical coastal flooding is expected, which includes high tide flooding plus impacts from more hurricanes or coastal storms, that means more coastal properties and coastline could be at risk in the years and decades ahead.

According to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, 18 structures have collapsed into the ocean since 2020, which includes six from last year and the six from yesterday.

The collapsing of these structures, many of which are homes, can make beaches unsafe for both residents and visitors, plus it disrupts the habitats of local wildlife.

There’s been a lot of work done and a lot of discussion about how to prevent these homes from collapsing and how to protect our coastlines. You can read more about some of the efforts here.

You can also learn more about resiliency along the North Carolina coast here.