How can hurricanes hundreds of miles away cause houses on the NC coast to collapse?

BUXTON, N.C. (WNCN) — The videos from the past few days of houses collapsing and falling into the water along the Outer Banks have been everywhere, but hurricanes Imelda and Humberto were hundreds of miles away from North Carolina. How did they play a role in those structures crashing into the ocean? It's all about waves.

Powerful hurricanes generate large, damaging waves, and remember, Humberto was at one point a Category 5 hurricane! That means dangerous water conditions. As Imelda eventually formed and started strengthening, that added to the rough waters in the ocean, albeit it hundreds of miles away from our coast.

But waves travel. While North Carolina didn't get the largest of the waves, they still traveled toward our coastline, impacting vulnerable areas like the Outer Banks.

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