An Outer Banks beach house floated off into the Atlantic Ocean on Friday evening as distant Hurricane Ernesto created large swells and rough surf along the North Carolina coast.
It is the seventh oceanfront house at Cape Hatteras National Seashore to collapse into the ocean in the past four years, and one of several damaged by rough ocean conditions Friday, the National Park Service said.
The beach box-style cottage at 23214 Corbina Drive in Rodanthe was unoccupied at the time, NPS spokesperson Michael Barber said Friday night.
Chicamacomico Fire and Rescue posted video captured by a bystander of the house being carried away by surf about 7:10 p.m.
According to Dare County property records, a couple from Hershey, Pennsylvania, owns the home, which was built in 1973.
Earlier Friday, the NPS warned beachgoers to stay away from the north end of Rodanthe, where as many as two dozen homes are vulnerable to collapse due to severe erosion.
Coastal flood and high surf advisories are in effect through Monday morning for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands due to expected ocean overwash flooding.
The storm is forecast to bring deadly rip currents and large breaking waves of 6 to 9 feet in the surf zone, with 1 to 2 feet of inundation expected along shorelines and tidal waterways during high tides, the National Weather Service said.
Public entry to the beach in Rodanthe is closed from the community’s northern boundary to the Jug Handle Bridge and beachgoers are strongly encouraged to stay out of the water in Rodanthe.
“Many other homes appear to have sustained damages in the Rodanthe area. Dangerous debris may be present on the beach and in the water for more than a dozen miles,” the park service said in a Friday night news release.
Ocean currents on Friday night were “rapidly transporting home debris to the north; however, if the wave swell and winds shift over the coming days, debris may also impact visitor safety in the villages of Waves and Salvo,” the release said.
As with other house collapses in Rodanthe, the park service is in communication with the owner, who has not yet obtained a debris removal contractor. The park service may conduct its own debris removal if the homeowner doesn’t act, but any cleanup efforts are postponed until elevated sea conditions ease next week, the release said.
