BUXTON, N.C. — Long before the most recent houses collapsed along Cape Hatteras National Seashore, officials had been wrestling with what policies might prevent future disasters.

Eight homes, all along the Tower Circle neighborhood in Buxton, fell off their stilts and into the Atlantic Ocean this week as a result of offshore impacts from two simultaneous hurricanes, Imelda and Humberto. Five of them fell within an hour of each other. One fell on Friday evening in Rodanthe, well north of the other eight.

Twelve homes had previously fallen in the span of five years since 2020, most of them in Rodanthe.

The eight Buxton houses to have fallen so far combined for an estimated $2.7 million in taxable building value, according to Dare County property records.

As debris cleanup began Friday, h

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