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BUXTON, N.C. 鈥� A beachfront stilt home along the Outer Banks in North Carolina has collapsed into the surf, bringing the total number of houses claimed by the Atlantic Ocean in the past five years to 12.

The two-story, wood-shingled home at the north end of聽Hatteras Island聽collapsed Tuesday afternoon, littering the sand with nail-studded debris. The house was unoccupied, said Mike Barber, a spokesman for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

鈥淪eashore staff are out today, cleaning up the beach to the south of the collapse site,鈥� Barber stated in an email on Wednesday.

The homeowner has hired a contractor to 鈥渨ork primarily near the house collapse site to remove the bulk of the remaining house structure and nearby debris associated with the collapse,鈥� he added.

The 11 previous home collapses since May 2020 were all in the tiny village of Rodanthe, the easternmost point in North Carolina. During the state鈥檚 recent brush with Hurricane Erin, many Rodanthe residents monitored聽two beachfront houses聽there, but they survived the surf.

The latest house to succumb was less than a mile from the famed Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which in 1999 was moved 2,900 feet inland to save it from erosion. It was one of about three dozen structures 鈥� including portions of two hotels 鈥� along that beach that were decertified for occupancy in late August, when Erin skirted the coast, Dare County Planning Director Noah Gillman said.

鈥淭he erosion in Buxton has significantly increased in the past couple of years,鈥� Gillman said Wednesday. 鈥淎nd that continued increased erosion, compiled with the effects of Hurricane Erin, got us to the point we are today.鈥�

The decertification actions were taken because of damage to septic systems and external stairs, Gillman said. It鈥檚 up to the property owners to decide whether to do the work required to reestablish compliance, he added.