Beach House Collapses Into Ocean and Floats Away as Hurricane Ernesto Brings Dangerous Currents to East Coast

Viral footage shows a beach house in North Carolina collapse and float away into the Atlantic Ocean as Hurricane Ernesto ravaged the east coast.

On Friday, Aug. 16, a home in Rodanthe on Hatteras Island was swept into the ocean due to a swell from the hurricane, according to a Facebook post from the Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue, which advised residents to steer clear of the water because “debris will be washing around” for days.

The home was unoccupied at the time of its collapse and no injuries were sustained in any of the homes that collapsed in the area, the National Park Service (NPS) confirmed in a release, which noted that the Rodanthe home is the seventh house to collapse on Seashore beaches in four years.

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge said they have been in communications with the property owner and “a debris removal contractor” had yet to be obtained. 

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“Significant debris removal efforts” aren’t expected to take place “until after the elevated sea conditions subside,” which Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials said could be sometime this week.

The Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue alerted residents on Aug. 16 that additional homes could be at risk of “collapse over the next few days.”

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on Monday, Aug. 19, “Ernesto is moving toward the northeast near 28 mph. A turn toward the northeast and east-northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected during the next couple of days.”

As the storm strengthened, forecasters warned that Ernesto would bring dangerous swells and rip currents along the East Coast, per NBC News.

The NHC said the center of the storm is expected to pass “near southeastern Newfoundland” on Monday night and into the early hours of Tuesday, Aug. 20.

NHC said maximum winds “are near 90 mph” with higher winds expected, adding that “Ernesto is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone by early Tuesday.”