Belgium fears for its fragile coastline

Storms and rising sea levels could wreak havoc as defences that protect beaches and dykes are overwhelmed. According to the regional authorities, about a third of the Belgian heavily populated coastline is inadequately protected against flooding.

Hawaii to Add Sand to Chronically Eroding Waikiki Beach

A $2.3 million state project to widen a chronically eroding section of Waikiki beach with sand pumped in from offshore, will begin by the end of this month. Waikiki naturally has a narrow beach, and people have been adding sand to the shoreline to make it wider. The earliest beach replenishment projects are believed to date to the 1920s. The first well-documented case was in 1939…

Hundreds Evacuated Amid Dutch Dike Break Fears

Police and military personnel evacuated 800 people from four villages in the low-lying northern Netherlands amid fears of a dike break following days of drenching rains. A quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level and 55 percent of the country is considered susceptible to flooding.

Attempt To Protect Houston From The Next Big Hurricane

To protect Houston and Galveston from future hurricanes, a Rice University-led team of experts recommends building a floodgate across the Houston Ship Channel adding new levees to protect densely populated areas on Galveston Island and the developed west side of Galveston Bay…

Beating land pressures

High land prices, particularly in coastal areas, make reclamation a relatively ‘cheap’ option for many port expansion projects.

Proposed Ports Gravely Threatens Coastal Beauty, India

Galloping capital flow into coastal infrastructure development will see a port built every 32 km along India’s 480kms’ coast. India aims to pour $60 billion into ports by 2020 under a drive to spur the fastest growth in more than two decades. The most serious and direct implication is aggravated coastal erosion, which will deprive local communities of the beaches on which their lives and livelihoods depend.

Puerto Rico coast still ruled by 1886 law

A Spanish law crafted in 1886 still governs development along Puerto Rico’s sprawling coastline, worrying activists and legislators who say the ancient mandate has allowed construction along ecologically sensitive beaches.