Five uninhabited houses along the Outer Banks in North Carolina, USA, collapsed into the ocean on Tuesday as Hurricanes Humberto and Imelda hit the Atlantic, the country's National Park Service reported, according to UNN, citing AP.
Details
The houses, which once stood on tall stilts, fell into the surf in the afternoon in Buxton, a community on the Outer Banks archipelago, said Mike Barber, a Park Service spokesman.
No injuries were reported, the Cape Hatteras National Park Service said in a social media post.
In a video shown by local TV channel 13News Now, the houses balanced on stilts, crashing against the waves before falling into the surf. The coastline was littered with debris, beams, pillows and an entire house as wave after wave rolled in from the Atlantic.
The post stated that, given the state of the ocean, further collapses were possible, and visitors were advised to avoid the areas noted on Tuesday, including areas further south, to avoid encountering debris.
On Tuesday, due to the ocean tide, the state Department of Transportation also closed a section of highway on Ocracoke Island. Ferry service connecting Ocracoke and Hatteras islands was also suspended on Tuesday, the agency said.
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North Carolina's coast consists almost entirely of narrow, low-lying barrier islands that have been eroding for years as sea levels rise. According to the Park Service, 17 private homes have collapsed on Seashore beaches since 2020.