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    Another North Carolina House Collapses Amid Hurricane Ernesto’s Waves

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    In Rodanthe, N.C., seven homes have been lost to the ocean in the last four years, as rising sea levels erode shorelines and put more buildings at risk. In the community of Rodanthe on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, residents witnessed on Friday an event that was not new and is unfortunately becoming more frequent: A house on the picturesque shoreline collapsed into the ocean.Weather experts said that crashing waves produced by Hurricane Ernesto hundreds of miles away, combined with especially high tides, appeared to be the cause, though local officials also said that the house was at risk of collapsing before the storm. For those on the Outer Banks, the destruction was one more stark reminder of the larger force at play — climate change, which is making storms more intense and sea levels higher, accelerating the erosion of beach fronts.Rodanthe, home to about 200 people, has lost seven homes to the ocean in the past four years. The house that was destroyed on Friday was unoccupied at the time of the collapse. There have been no reports of injuries from any of the seven collapses, according to the National Park Service. Officials warned that many more homes are at risk for damage or collapse in the coming days as Hurricane Ernesto pummels the East Coast from afar, even as it follows a path that is not expected to hit the mainland United States. Some other homes near Rodanthe have already appeared to sustain damage. Forecasters predict that the storm could bring dangerous rip currents and a high surf along the East Coast through the weekend. The risks could persist in the Outer Banks through early next week, they said. In North Carolina, climate change has caused the sea level to rise by about half a foot since 2000, and the level could rise by about another foot by 2050, said William Sweet, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Endangered Wild Stallion Is Euthanized After Being Struck by Vehicle

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      The horse, a 10-year-old stallion named Bullwinkle, was one of only 200 Banker horses, a breed on the Outer Banks in North Carolina that descended from horses brought over by Spanish explorers.A critically endangered wild horse was euthanized on Saturday after it was struck by an off-road vehicle on a beach on the Outer Banks in North Carolina and sustained traumatic injuries, officials said on Monday.The horse, a 10-year-old stallion named Bullwinkle, was a Banker horse, a breed that has lived on the Outer Banks, a long, skinny barrier island, since the 1500s.Only about 200 Banker horses remain in the wild, said Meg Puckett, the director of herd management at the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, a nonprofit organization that has managed and protected the herd and its habitat in Corolla, a village on the northern end of the Outer Banks, since 1989. Bullwinkle’s herd numbered about 100.“He was in the prime of his life, and went from being a symbol of what it means to be wild and free to a tragic example of how irresponsible, reckless human behavior can cause pain, suffering and irreparable damage to the herd in an instant,” the organization said on Facebook.The Currituck County Sheriff’s Office arrested Porter Williamson, 57, of Chesapeake, Va., who was released on a $10,000 bond, the agency said in a post on its Facebook page. Mr. Williamson was charged with resisting a public officer. He had originally fled the scene but later returned when deputies were towing the vehicle, which was registered to him, the agency said. Upon being noticed, Mr. Williamson took off again, but deputies chased him on foot and caught him.Rhonda Williamson was also charged with resisting a public officer and was released on a $5,000 bond, the agency said. Her relation to Mr. Williamson was not immediately clear.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More