Nine homes in the area have been lost to the ocean in the past four years because of rising seas and storms that erode shorelines.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore said the unoccupied oceanfront home fell early Sept. 20 in Rodanthe, a roughly 215-mile drive southeast from Raleigh. The house is the eighth to collapse in the area during the past four years.

After two oceanfront homes fell into the sea at the Outer Banks Friday, the main highway on the islands was flooded Saturday, North Carolina officials said.