Six beachfront homes collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean in less than 24 hours as hurricanes passed offshore.
Five of the homes fell in Buxton between 2 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. A photographer at the coast told WRAL News a sixth home fell in the same area overnight.
Other WRAL Top Stories
The homes that collapsed on Cottage Avenue and Tower Circle Road were unoccupied, and Dare County leaders said no one was injured.
Photos: More Outer Banks homes collapse into the ocean
The six additional homes brings the total to 18 homes that have collapsed during the last five years in the Rodanthe and Buxton area.
The entire beachfront, from northern Buxton through the northern section of off-road vehicle (ORV) ramp 43, is closed for public safety. ORV drivers using ramps 38 should avoid traveling to the south and anyone using ramp 43 should avoid traveling north.
Photographer Daniel Pullen posted video of a collapsed home on Tuesday to his Instagram page.
Photographer Jennifer Koontz of Epic Shutter Photography posted flooding video on Tuesday afternoon, which was about an hour before high tide. She wrote that the area had added sandbags.
On Tuesday, the North Carolina Department of Transportation closed North Carolina Highway 12 on the north end of Ocracoke Island between the National Park Service Pony Pens and the ferry terminal due to high wnids and overwash.
Dare County Manager Bobby Outten said the county has more than 100 miles of shoreline.
"How we manage that?" Outten said. "We've managed that with beach nourishment in the populated areas and where we have infrastructure that we need to protect, and so for the most part, that has worked."
Outten acknowledged that the county is limited in preventing houses from collapsing.
"The county doesn't own the beach [or] doesn't own the land," Outten said. "Those houses that are vulnerable, that are in the surf like that, are in the park, and so, we don't have that authority [or] that jurisdiction.
"And so, the question becomes, how do we get those houses off of the beach before they fall?"
Humberto and Imelda remain offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. However, ocean overwash from the storms has breached the dune line and pushed deep sand and water onto the road.
WRAL News previously reported about how many sea level rise experts believe there are areas of barrier islands that are not ideal for development.
Rodanthe has become the focal point in the national conversation about the impacts of climate change on sea level rise in coastal areas.
When homes fall, they leave behind dangerous debris that can scatter for miles along the shoreline.
Oftentimes, property owners are forced by the conditions of their insurance to wait until a home collapses. Then, they can collect their insurance money.