BUXTON, N.C.– A 28th home has collapsed into the Atlantic along North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Sunday amid rough seas and beach conditions during a powerful nor’easter that smacked the Carolinas and Virginia with heavy snow, hurricane-force winds and rough surf.
This marks the first home to collapse on the Outer Banks in 2026, following 16 home collapses in Buxton and Rodanthe in late 2025.
Beach house in Buxton, North Carolina, collapses into the ocean during rough beach conditions during a nor’easter on Feb. 1, 2026.
(On_a_adventure Hunter Hicks / FOX Weather)
According to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Sunday’s collapse occurred on Tower Circle Road, the location of several other home collapses in Buxton last year.
LIVE UPDATES: NOR’EASTER POUNDS CAROLINAS WITH SNOW, CHARGES NORTH TO CAPE COD
The home was unoccupied and privately-owned.
A powerful nor’easter storm pounded the Outer Banks on Saturday, leaving dangerous beach conditions along with blowing snow and intense gusty winds.
FOX Weather Storm Specialist Mike Seidel is seeing near-blizzard conditions in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, as a major storm blasts the Carolinas on Saturday.
The entire beach in front of the village of Buxton is closed due to hazardous debris and structures at risk of collapse.
Coastal flooding and beach erosion over the years has led to the deterioration of beaches in the area.
NOR’EASTER LEAVES BEACHFRONT OUTER BANKS HOME VULNERABLE TO ROUGH SURF
A collapsed beach house breaks apart in the ocean after collapsing on the beach of Buxton, North Carolina, on Feb. 1, 2026.
(On_a_adventure Hunter Hicksw / FOX Weather)
Homes that were once hundreds of feet from the beach are now constantly sitting in ocean water, damaged and in pieces after continuous beating from the ocean.
FOX Weather was on the ground in Buxton on Oct. 2, 2025 following a series of home collapses in late September and early October.
FILE: FOX Weather Correspondent Katie Byrne reacts to another home falling into the ocean in Buxton, North Carolina. This is the 8th home to collapse in just a few days.
(FOX Weather)
Correspondent Katie Byrne was preparing for a live report on the beach when a home she had been closely monitoring began cracking and creaking behind her, before swaying forward and collapsing in the water, caught on video.
Video showed the home smacking into another one vulnerable to collapse immediately next to it.
Concern for other beach homes in the area continues as the nor’easter moves up the East Coast on Sunday.
