A viral video is circulating on the Internet of a beach house in North Carolina that fell into the sea and was washed away.
On Friday, Hurricane Ernesto began its journey towards the beaches of the East Coast. In Outer Banks, North Carolina, one house did not survive the conditions.
Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue shared the video of the collapse on Facebook. Watch for yourself:
Now live on Fox explained why the North Carolina coast poses a high risk for such incidents.
“The North Carolina coast is made up almost entirely of narrow, low-lying barrier islands that are increasingly vulnerable to storm surges and flooding from the bay and ocean as the world warms. As sea levels rise, these islands typically move toward the mainland, undermining efforts to preserve their lands.”
Although this video is going extremely viral, it is not the first house of this kind to collapse. In fact, it is the seventh house in the Outer Banks to collapse in this manner in the last four years.
Officials also said that several other houses were at risk of collapsing in the coming days.
Visitors to the East Coast also need to be cautious. With Hurricane Ernesto comes dangerous rip currents and surf tailings.
Hopefully the hurricane will not cause more damage along the coast. It is heartbreaking for owners to see homes washed away, but there is always a risk of such situations occurring in these areas.