A beachfront house in Rodanthe was washed into the ocean Friday evening by swells caused by Hurricane Ernesto, Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue said.
Video posted to the agency’s Facebook page showed the two-story house floating in the surf.
Fire rescue officials warned against going into the water because of the danger of debris and said cleanup efforts would be announced by the National Park Service.
No one was inside the house, called Dolphin’s Point, on East Corbina Drive in Rodanthe at the time, fire rescue officials said, noting that power had been cut last week.
Earlier this year, the National Park Service reported six privately owned houses had collapsed into the ocean in Dare County since 2020.
Although Ernesto is churning hundreds of miles from the Outer Banks, it has created high surf along much of the East Coast.
Dangerous rip currents are expected through the weekend along the North Carolina coast.