Watch: Oceanfront home in North Carolina's Outer Banks torn down in effort to combat beach erosion
So far in 2026, four houses have collapsed along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
See it: Buxton oceanfront home at risk of collapse torn down
One of the several beachfront homes in danger of collapsing into the ocean due to beach erosion and rough surf was intentionally torn down on Monday. Since 2020, 31 beach homes have collapsed on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Rodanthe and Buxton.
BUXTON, N.C.– A home on the beach on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina was torn down on Monday to save it from an inevitable collapse.
It's a familiar scene, as 31 beach homes in Rodanthe and Buxton have collapsed into the ocean due to beach erosion and extreme weather events since 2020.
Video from Jenni Koontz of Epic Shutter Photography showed the octagonal home, with its stairway long gone and its pilings leaning, proving the home was in its last days.
SEE IT: ENTIRE HOUSE ON SMALL NORTH CAROLINA HIGHWAY CREATES UNUSUAL TRAFFIC JAM
The home leans precariously before being torn down. (Jenni Koontz/Epic Shutter Photography via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Large sandbags lined the beach in front of the home to prevent debris from floating into the ocean as an excavator worked to rip it apart.
With one crunch of the excavator's arm into the home, its pilings gave way and the home collapsed onto the beach with loud cracks and a crash.
The excavator rips into the house as it collapses. (Jenni Koontz/Epic Shutter Photography via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Inside the home, a mattress still sat in a bedroom, which the excavator later pulled out as it continued tearing into the house.
OCEAN BATTLE: CREWS RUSH TO SAVE NORTH CAROLINA OUTER BANKS HOME FROM COLLAPSING INTO THE ATLANTIC
A look down the shore showed only one or two houses left standing in the ocean, while dozens of others teeter along the edge of the sandy beach and the ocean surf.
Wind, waves and harsh weather conditions over the last decades have left these homes closer and closer to the ocean, when they used to be several feet back on the beach.
Only a few houses stand in the ocean as more and more collapses are reported down the Cape Hatteras National Seashore over the years. (Jenni Koontz/Epic Shutter Photography via Storyful / FOX Weather)
In September and October, a series of homes collapsed into the surf in Buxton. FOX Weather Correspondent Katie Byrne was posted in front of a home at risk of collapse on Oct. 2, preparing for a live hit with FOX Weather when the home collapsed.
WATCH: 8TH NORTH CAROLINA BEACH HOUSE TO COLLAPSE CAUGHT LIVE ON FOX WEATHER
The house floated in the ocean after collapsing, with waves eventually tearing the house apart.
North Carolina coastal flooding causes another home to collapse
Another house in Buxton, North Carolina, has been added to the list of destruction as the effects of Post-Tropical Storm Imelda have destroyed an additional home.
So far in 2026, four houses have collapsed along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The series of collapses occurred on Feb. 1 and 2 following a powerful nor'easter that slammed the Carolinas with blizzard-like conditions and powerful waves.
Back in March, an entire house was transported on the back of a flatbed truck from Holden Beach to the town of Supply, NC.
The house was deemed salvageable despite the ongoing erosion and coastal flooding, and was relocated more inland.
Watch: Entire house on small North Carolina highway creates unusual traffic jam
An entire house being transported off an exposed North Carolina beach last week created an unusual traffic jam that was caught on video. The home was a wide load on a flatbed truck, and was just narrow enough to cross over the narrow Holden Beach Bridge that connects the barrier island to the mainland. The Army Corps of Engineers initiated a beach review plan for the Town of Holden Beach in July 2024. The project aims to assess the extent of the current risks that erosion and coastal flooding pose to Holden Beach.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Dare County, North Carolina have worked together to clear out debris from these homes post-collapse.
Dare County said these threatened homes have to be removed or relocated at the cost of the homeowner in many cases.
The house as it came down on May 18, 2026. (Jenni Koontz/Epic Shutter Photography via Storyful / FOX Weather)
This house in particular was torn down as part of a beach nourishment project from Dare County, Jenni Koontz of Epic Shutter Photography told Storyful.