Retreat in Rodanthe Interactive Feature – the Washington Post
Along three blocks in a North Carolina beach town, severe erosion is upending life, forcing hard choices and offering a glimpse of the dilemmas other coastal communities will face…
Early last year, a house crumbled into the sea in this small Outer Banks community, home to some of the most rapid rates of erosion and sea level rise on the East Coast.
Not long after, another house fell. And then another.
Wave after wave, the ocean had clawed away at the beach until the stilted homes finally gave way. The collapses spread debris — and anxiety — for more than a dozen miles along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. A video that captured one house surrendering to the surf in May went viral, bringing national attention to the urgency of the problem along this scenic stretch of coast.
Rodanthe’s struggles encapsulate thorny and unresolved issues around risky coastal development, the unevenness of real estate disclosures, questions about personal risk, the difficulties of protecting oceanfront properties and the obstacles to moving people out of harm’s way when necessary…
Is YOUR town at risk? – Daily Mail
Terrifying interactive map reveals the areas that could be plunged UNDERWATER by 2050 amid sea level rise fuelled by climate change.
With the allure of deck chairs, ice cream and amusement arcades, the Great British seaside holds a special, nostalgic place in the hearts of UK holidaymakers.
But fast forward just 25 years and scores of the country’s beaches, piers and bays could be underwater because of increasing global sea levels caused by global warming…
Beaches on Scotland’s ‘Hawaii of the North’ at risk after sand stolen – The Telegraph
The sand of Tiree in the Hebrides is being removed on an industrial scale by ‘greedy’ islanders, claim landowners
With its stunning white crystal sands, it is known as “Hawaii of the North”. But beachcombers are said to be removing the famous sands of Tiree in the Hebrides on an industrial scale. Landowner Argyll Estates suspects sand is being “stolen” by “greedy” islanders under cover of darkness. Reports also suggest that it is “the more affluent residents” who are involved – “so the reasons for this may not always be hardship but perhaps greed,” Argyll Estates factor Hugh Nicol wrote in a letter to the Assembly of this month Tiree Municipal Council…
The global impact of sand mining on beaches and dunes – Ocean & Coastal Management
Beaches and coastal dunes have always supplied sand for a wide range of uses, and initially the extracted volumes were limited to buckets, wheelbarrows, or small pickup truck loads. However, starting in the late twentieth century, and thanks to urban development, especially for coastal tourism, coastal and river sand has been extracted at an accelerated pace, and on a much grander scale…
Beach Loss Through Sea-Level Rise Will Affect Underserved Communities the Most – Sea Grant California
A new study shows that equitable coastal access might become another victim of climate change – unless we plan proactively.
As the rising sea level slowly erodes California’s beaches, underserved communities are most affected by the loss, according to preliminary results in a new study funded by California Sea Grant and the California State University Council on Ocean Affairs, Science & Technology (COAST)…
Gov. DeSantis touts post-Hurricane Ian beach renourishment funding – Florida Politics
Volusia County is set to receive $37.7M out of the $100M set aside for beach renourishment.
Volusia County and other areas that suffered beach erosion from Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole are set to receive $100 million for beach renourishment projects as part of legislation passed by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in December.
DeSantis highlighted the specific grant amounts to each community during an event Wednesday in Daytona Beach.
Although Hurricane Ian hit the state as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 28 and packed the biggest punch in Southwest Florida, where storm surge caused more than 100 deaths, it brought damaging beach erosion on the east coast as well, especially in Volusia County where dozens of homes and other structures were affected.
“The coastal erosion caused by these storms not only damaged upland structures and infrastructure but left them vulnerable to subsequent storms if not addressed,” DeSantis said. “I am pleased to announce another step to expedite recovery of our communities impacted by these historic storm events. This funding will support beach restoration needs, allowing us to rebuild and further enhance resilience…”
‘It’s reaching a crisis point’: Outer Banks leaders say they’re out of funding to save threatened beach communities – WRAL News
Dare County leaders said communities are at risk from coastal erosion, but state law is holding them back from finding potential solutions.
Dare County leaders said they can no longer afford to build back beaches in the Outer Banks that have been swallowed by the ocean, sending multiple houses collapsing in recent years…
How sea level rise contributes to billions in extra damage during hurricanes – Yale Climate Connections
Had Ian hit a century ago, when sea levels were about a foot lower, the storm probably would have caused billions less in storm surge damage, judging by the results from two studies looking at storm surge damage from 2012’s Hurricane Sandy in New York. Taken together, the study results suggest that rising seas left a huge portion of U.S. coastal infrastructure – much of it built during the 20th century – vulnerable to storm surges.
Small increases in storm surge can cause huge impacts…
An Alaskan Town Is Losing Ground—and a Way of Life – the New York Times
For years, Kivalina has been cited—like the Maldives, in the Indian Ocean, or the island nation of Tuvalu, in the Pacific—as an example of the existential threat posed to low-lying islands by climate change…
On a visit to the state in 2015, President Barack Obama flew over Kivalina and posted a photograph of the island on social media from the air. “There aren’t many other places in America that have to deal with questions of relocation right now,” Obama wrote, “but there will be.” He described what was happening in the village as “America’s wake-up call.”
Seven years later, Kivalina’s move is still mostly in the future, even though the island continues to lose ground…