It’s been a rough couple months for residents, and homeowners, on North Carolina’s barrier island of the Outer Banks. Large surf, combined with minimal coastal infrastructure has led to the tragic loss of multiple homes, collapsing amidst the waves.
And now, more homes have fallen victim to Mother Nature.
Brett Barely, the Outer Banks’s best surfer, who has been documenting the destruction showed footage of five more homes crumbling and falling into the sea during hectic ocean conditions on Tuesday. That makes 26 homes lost to the ocean since 2020. And in his latest post, Barley shows the footage, along with some somber words on the situation.
“The Oceanfront of Buxton is becoming unrecognizable,” Barley began. “5 Houses fell today in total. Which brings the total to 15 houses fallen in Buxton in the last 6 weeks.”
The footage shows apocalyptic scenes. Houses inundated by storm surf, wood and debris scattered across the shoreline, large floods of water sweeping across the shoreline, and into the homes, water literally flowing through living rooms of lost homes.
Related: Waves Devour Outer Banks Home, ‘We Watched in Awe’ (Video)
It’s utterly tragic, and understandably, the residents are devastated.
Reflecting on the situation, Barley continued:
“At the end of the day… there’s no loss of life. It’s painful to lose houses where so many memories have been made… it’s painful to watch a town you grew up in get re-arranged every other week. But we can carry those memories on, & learn how to move forward. If there’s one thing you learn living on an island, it’s that nothing here on earth is permanent. Which is why our Hope & Faith should never rest in material things….”
Our hearts go out to the people of the OBX – one of the East Coast’s premier surfing destinations, and currently the site of life-altering destruction.
Hopefully they catch a break soon.
Related: 5 Outer Banks Homes Collapse Amid Hurricane Surf (Video)