Honolulu, Waikiki coastal over-development. Hawaii. Photo source: ©© Gouldy99
Excerpts;
Most visitors may not know it, but Waikiki Beach is almost entirely man-made. It has had erosion problems since the late-1800s when developers began erecting hotels and homes too close to the natural shoreline and building seawalls and other structures that blocked the natural ebb and flow of sand along the beach.
By 1950, more than 80 structures, including seawalls, groins, piers and storm drains, were counted along the Waikiki shoreline.
Efforts to combat the resulting erosion have been haphazard, however, and with sea level rise now claiming about a foot of the beach a year, the threat of losing Waikiki Beach has become more dire…
Read Full Article, Huffington Green
Erosion Creates Dangerous Situation on Waikiki Beach, KITV, Hawaii (01-03-2015)
Over the past several months severe erosion has caused a concrete slab near the water’s edge at Kuhio Beach to become exposed. Beach erosion in Waikiki has been a problem for decades and has resulted in at least 10 sand replenishment projects since 1939. 300,000 cubic yards of sand has been placed onto Waikiki Beach over the past 77 years.
Sand Moved To Cover Waikiki Beach Erosion Swept Away, Video (Uploaded 11-25-2013)
Just a day after crews tackled an erosion problem at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki, half of the sand they brought in was washed away, according to city officials…
Waikiki Beach Eroding Less Than A Year After $2.2M Sand Restoration, Pacific Business News (Uploaded 01-24-2013)
A section of Hawaii’s famed Waikiki Beach is starting to erode, less than a year after the completion of a $2.2 million project to replenish the sand on about 1,730 feet of shoreline that had been suffering from chronic erosion.
Beach Erosion Again Exposes Concrete at Kuhio Beach, Hawaii News Now (07-29-2014)
Scientists Urge Shoreline Retreat From Hawaii’s Eroding Beaches, EE News
Sea-level rise is a significant factor in the major shoreline change underway in Hawaii, where 52 to 72 percent of beaches on the chain of islands have eroded over the past century.
Surf Hampers Attempt To Stop Oahu Beach Erosion
“Sandbagging is pretty much an exercise in futility. The only benefit is psychological, the feeling of doing something…”
70 Percent of Beaches Eroding On Hawaiian Islands Kauai, Oahu, and Maui, USGS (Uploaded 05-08-2012)
Hawaii’s Beaches Are in Retreat, and Its Way of Life May Follow, The New York Times
Living on the shores of Hawaii: natural hazards, the environment, and our communities, A book by Chip Fletcher; Robynne Boyd, William J. Neal and Virginia Tice.
“Living on the shores of Hawaii: natural hazards, the environment, and our communities” addresses a wide range of environmental concerns within the context of sustainability and their influence on the future of Hawaii…
Endless Erosion Battle a Matter of Money, The St Petersburg Tribune (07-21-2014)
“Seawalls Kill Beaches,” Open Letters by Warner Chabot And Rob Young; (10-03-2014)
A report and open letter from coastal geologists Warner Chabot and Rob Young, presented to the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) meeting in Sacramento, held on August 26th, 2014…
“The Beaches Are Moving,” A Video featuring Orrin Pilkey, PhD
World famous coastal geologist Orrin H. Pilkey takes us to the beach and explains why erosion has become a problem…
Waikiki beach-renourishement, 2012. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
