Five homes collapsed in Buxton on Tuesday, according to a person close to the situation.
The homes caved in as the Outer Banks were hit hard by strong wind gusts of greater than 50 mph and the tide encroached on the structures. The fifth home collapsed sometime Tuesday afternoon. All of the homes were on Ocean Drive, Cottage Avenue and Tower Circle Road.
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Homes being destroyed have become a regular occurrence in Outer Banks towns like Rodanthe, Corolla and Buxton in recent years due to numerous environmental factors.
Jennifer Koontz, a photographer who lives in the area, said she noticed the landscape has changed significantly, especially since September, when dangerous surf from Hurricanes Imelda and Humberto brought dangerous surf to Buxton.
"It's almost unrecognizable," Koontz said. "I noticed it really hit me when the fifth house fell."
Leaders are also monitoring three other homes that could collapse this week. No one was injured on Tuesday and no one was inside the homes at the time. Most of the homes along the stretch are dangerously close to the shoreline and have been unoccupied for some time.
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At least nine houses collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean from Hurricanes Imelda and Humberto, including six in a 24-hour period. Five of those homes fell in Buxton on Cottage Avenue and Tower Circle Road on Sept. 30. More recently, a beachfront home in Buxton collapsed on Saturday, Oct. 18.
"It's really crazy how in just a short period of time, everything looks so different," Koontz said. "If you haven't been here since June and you came back, you would not even think you were in the same place."
Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm, made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday in an active late stretch for hurricane season.