I've heard of beachfront property, but this is ridiculous. Some sad news for North Carolina homeowners forced to watch their beach home collapse into the sea. Winds and storm surge from Hurricane Ernesto battered across the North Carolina coastline
It was too much for one North Carolina home, which floated out to sea and collapsed under the surf. The incident happened on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore beach in Rodanthe. That's the northern part of the Outer Banks. According to the National Parks Service, the area has been battling beach erosion for years.
Storms like Ernesto just sped up a losing battle. The sinking of the North Carolina home made quite the site. One horrified spectator screamed, "Oh, my God. Oh, my God!"
North Carolina Home Sinks
So what exactly happened to the North Carolina home? Well, like a lot of beach houses, it was elevated up off the ground. This helps prevent flooding given the proximity to the beach. Unfortunately for the homeowners, the tide caused the pilings under the house to collapse. This caused a domino reaction that led to the entire house collapsing as well.
It ended up a pile of debris in the water and on the beach. The wreckage of the house proves to be a bigger problem for the area's wildlife. Parts of the house were decorated hundreds of feet of the beach. Meanwhile, experts speculate that much of the debris will now litter more than a dozen miles of the ocean. Hurricane Ernesto is showing its force across the weekend. Many weather officials are concerned about the impact that it can have on other beachfront property in North Carolina.
"There are a number of other homes throughout Rodanthe at risk of collapse over the next few days. Swell from Ernesto is expected to peak Saturday and Sunday," Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue officials said. "We're in for a rough weekend. Please heed warnings and do not enter the ocean."
Of course, it's not just due to the hurricane. This was the seventh beachfront home to collapse in the past four years. The coastline in the region is eroding thanks to a combination of water, storms, and also wind. As such, it's putting property owners in a bind.
