The Island Free Press is reporting this morning that two more oceanfront houses in Buxton have collapsed in the surf as a result of the storm, one last night and the other this morning at high tide. Both were unoccupied.
The Beacon reported yesterday on the collapse around sunrise of a house at 46201 Tower Circle Road in Buxton. The Island Free Press does not provide addresses for the new casualties.
According to the Free Press, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore has closed the beach affected by the houses’ extensive debris to the public.
Nineteen oceanfront houses on Hatteras Island have fallen since September, all but one of them in Buxton, the other in Rodanthe.
For the story and photographs, see https://islandfreepress.org/outer-banks-news/two-more-oceanfront-homes-collapse-in-buxton-2026/.
We also sadly note that The Island Free Press reports today on the death of Gee Gee Rosell, the longtime owner of Buxton Village Books, on Jan. 29.
Gee Gee opened her beloved book shop in 1984, 10 years after she graduated from the West Virginia University School of Forestry and moved to Hatteras Island.
We had the pleasure of first meeting Gee Gee, an independent, hard-working free spirit, more than 30 years ago. She was devoted to books, writers, readers, and Hatteras Island and was also a lot of fun.
A memorial reportedly will be held for Gee Gee in the spring.
THE SOUTHERN SHORES BEACON, 2/2/26
The Southern Shores Beacon 