What Are the Worst Places For Coastal Erosion?
A 2020 coastal erosion study predicts that nearly half of the U.S. coast’s sandy beaches could disappear within the next 80 years. In places where erosion has happened, the effect of severe beach erosion is already reshaping shorelines, disrupting coastal communities, and increasing flood risks and property damage.
This page outlines the regions most vulnerable to coastal erosion, the factors driving it, and its impacts on communities.
Where Is the Worst Coastal Erosion In the World?
The Joint Research Center of the European Commission published a peer-reviewed study modeling how erosion will change our coastline. To simulate future coastline changes, the analysis used 35 years of satellite imagery and 82 years of climate data, and it ran over 100 million storm event simulations. The following chart outlines the results.
The Gulf of Mexico coastline in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas faces some of the worst coastal erosion, partly due to the shoreline’s flatter topography. For example, in places where erosion has happened, such as Florida’s Gulf coast, sand dunes average eight feet, whereas on the Atlantic coast, dunes average 15 feet, providing more protection. Coastal erosion examples like these highlight the vulnerability of specific regions to severe beach erosion.
Erosion along the Gulf Coast, one of the worst places for coastal erosion, is also impacted by upstream changes. Modifications to the Mississippi River, including dams and river armoring, have reduced underwater sediment accumulation by 73 percent over the past 40 years. This lack of sediment deposits, a factor in severe beach erosion, accelerates seafloor erosion, leaving beaches more vulnerable to waves and storms.
What Are the Effects of Coastal Erosion?
After a powerful two-day storm, one New Jersey coast lost about 70 percent of its dunes due to relentless waves, leaving a sand cliff along the high-tide line. Gigantic swaths of sand were swept away, leaving coastal homes perched above.
As you can see, severe beach erosion has significant impacts, even in the short term. Consider how much can happen over decades if a single storm can cause this change. For example, in 1893, North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras Lighthouse stood 1,400-1,500 feet from the shoreline. By 1980, the surf was only 50 to 70 feet away.
The signs of coastal erosion include:
- Retreating Shoreline: The coastline moves further inland over time.
- Beach Erosion: Beaches narrow or disappear.
- Cliff Erosion: Cliffs become steeper or collapse.
- Sea Arches: Wave erosion forms natural arches.
- Sea Stacks: Isolated rock formations eroded from the mainland.
- Sea Caves: Waves form cliff caves.
- Vegetation Loss: Coastal plants become extinct due to saltwater intrusion.
- Infrastructure Damage: Damage or destruction to buildings, roads, and other structures.
What Causes Coastal Erosion?
Several factors contribute to coastal erosion, including:
Waves
One of the most significant factors of coastal erosion is waves. Water is powerful, and the repeated cycle of waves and tides can change the shape of the coast. The beach is washed away on sandy beaches, and rocky cliffs can fracture or shear off due to waves.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that ocean wave energy predicts erosion rate. Large, recurring waves erode a beach faster than smaller, infrequent ones. This impact intensifies during hurricanes when tides increase and waves become more powerful.
Landmass and Seafloor Shape
Landmass and seafloor topography affect wave breaks and their force. For example, underwater sandbars can refract wave energy before it reaches shore, influencing sediment displacement. The wave angles can significantly impact the degree of erosion. For instance, steep-angled waves approaching the shoreline concentrate their energy in smaller areas, causing more intense erosion.
Climate Change
Climate change accelerates coastal erosion, where rising sea levels increase shoreline loss and severe storms speed up erosion. Climate change causes increased storm intensity and frequency, exacerbating coastal erosion, causing severe damage, and a more rapid shoreline retreat.
Human Activity
Human activity impacts coastal erosion rates. For example, dams and river modifications can reduce sediment flow from waterways, depriving coastlines of new deposits. Deepened coastal shipping channels can accelerate erosion on nearby beaches.
Implementing jetties and other shoreline modifications can slow erosion by interrupting water flow and trapping sediment. However, these structures can also affect adjacent shorelines, like increased erosion.
What Are the Impacts of Coastal Erosion?
Coastal erosion has detrimental effects. Here are just a few:
Increased Property Damage
One of the most significant effects of coastal erosion is property damage. As the ocean creeps closer, homes become more prone to flooding, storm damage, and deterioration due to coastal erosion—and it’s not only oceanfront homes that are affected. Changes along the coast can cause flooding throughout an entire community and along inland rivers and streams. Property damage can be severe—just one inch of flooding in a home can cause $25,000 in damage.
Economic Decline
Coastal erosion negatively affects the local economy. Many areas affected by erosion include local industries and recreational activities closely tied to the ocean. Severe erosion could decimate the beautiful beaches that drive tourism and recreation, disrupting fishing, ports, or offshore refineries.
Coastal Wildlife and Habitat Disruption
Eroding beaches threaten coastal wildlife and their habitats. Dunes and shorelines are essential parts of the coastal ecosystem, and as these areas are washed away, vital habitats are lost.
Real Estate Market Decline
Erosion impacts real estate values. Buying a home is a long-term investment, but the risk of flooding and erosion in places with the worst coastal erosion in the world can lead to market fluctuations.
How to Protect Your Property From Coastal Erosion
The best approach to protect your home or property from coastal erosion threats is to address three critical areas of concern. First, assess the changing shoreline and how it affects your property. Next, speak with an insurance agent about ways to protect your investment. Last, contact a foundation repair expert to learn ways to protect your home against flooding and water damage.
Groundworks: Foundation Solutions For Coastal Homes
At Groundworks, we understand just how powerful water can be. Hydrostatic pressure cracks slab foundations, and improper drainage causes landscape erosion and indoor flooding. If your property lies in a coastal region, routine foundation inspections are a must.
Groundworks is the nation’s leading basement waterproofing and foundation repair expert. We offer free inspections for coastal area homes, thorough diagnosis, and tailored repair options for your home and budget. Contact us today for your free inspection to get started!
Foundation Repair FAQs
Of course, prevention is better than a cure. Luckily, you can not only have professional systems installed to safeguard your home from future damage; you can also use small daily measures to keep your foundation and your home’s overall structure prepared for the worse.
- Taking Steps Toward Avoiding Foundation Problems
For example, you can commit to yearly assessments that can help you catch problems while they’re still in their infancy. When you check for foundation problems every year, you’re more likely to have an expert notice them as early as possible. This can ensure that small-scale repairs are done regularly, costing only a minor amount, instead of needing a several-hundred-thousand-dollar replacement once every five to 10 years.
You can also maintain the area around your home’s foundation, invest in basement waterproofing, and do inspections to note foundation issues early. These measures will all be more beneficial for your foundation. When you contact a foundation expert, they can also typically give you ways to avoid foundation problems in the future.
- Unavoidable Causes of Potential Foundation Problems
Of course, if it were possible to avoid foundation problems completely, these methods would probably be more widespread. There are some things that you won’t be able to avoid. The best way to ensure that these unavoidable causes don’t turn into extremely serious concerns is to tackle them as soon as they show up.
For example, some amount of soil erosion is almost always going to be a problem. However, if you invest in polyurethane foam injections when you first start noticing an uneven sidewalk, you’ll manage them more easily. This is the best way to avoid long-term foundation concerns in your home.
Many insurance policies do not cover flood damage, such as preventable instances part of regular home maintenance. However, there are certain circumstances where your damage may be covered. It’s best to check with your insurance agent to go over exactly what your policy covers.
Look at local maps and online services to see if you’re in a flood-prone area. Many communities also have local information to show you whether or not you’re in a flood-prone areas. If in doubt, call a city representative or a landscaping professional.
