A two-story stilt house at the north end of Hatteras Island collapsed into the surf Tuesday afternoon, as shown in a video filmed by Brian Wharton. The wood-shingled home scattered nail-studded debris across the sand.

The house was unoccupied at the time, said Mike Barber, a spokesperson for Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

“Seashore staff are out today, cleaning up the beach to the south of the collapse site,” Barber said. He added that the homeowner has hired a contractor to remove the bulk of the remaining structure and nearby debris.

This collapse marks the 12th house the Atlantic Ocean has claimed in the past five years. The previous 11 collapses occurred in Rodanthe, a small village at North Carolina’s eastern-most point, known from Nicholas Sparks’ novels.

During Hurricane Erin, locals watched as two Rodanthe beachfront homes survived the stormy surf.

The collapsed home was less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which was moved 2,900 feet (884 meters) inland in 1999 to protect it from erosion.

Brian Wharton said: “I decided to look at the aftermath of this nor’easter that has been sitting off the coast for a few days. What a mess. These houses are right now on the edge.”