Latest news with #coastalerosion
BBC News
27-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Giant's Causeway visitors urged not to jam coins into rocks
The Giant's Causeway has faced many threats to its survival, from mythical fights between giants to coastal erosion and rising sea levels. Now there's a new first, you don't notice them but as soon as you see one, you start to see them everywhere - hundreds of them, in every fissure and are coins, inserted into the tiny gaps between one of Northern Ireland's most famous and photographed natural resources, the basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway. Like the padlocks left on the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris, people often leave the coins behind for love or like that tradition, the coins are causing problems, and now visitors are being asked to keep their spare change in their Paris, it has been made illegal to attach a padlock after part of the bridge collapsed in the Giant's Causeway, the practice started years ago – but the caretakers for the site, the National Trust, believe it has increased significantly in scale in the last decade or of thousands of tourists and locals visit each year and only a fraction leave behind this unwanted the coins are having a direct impact on the rocks themselves. The worst affected are the basalt columns that make up The Loom – 10 ft high leaning towers of rock. They are a slightly lighter colour than the iconic hexagonal black basalt at the point of the is easy to see at first glance the discolouration caused by the coins - a reddish-brown wash over the Cliff Henry, nature engagement officer with the National Trust, said the rocks are affected on a number of levels."People see others put coins in, so they copycat, they take a coin out of their pocket and they might take a stone off the ground to hammer the coin in, but they might miss and chip the stone itself so that's doing damage." He added: "Once the coin is in there it starts to rust and due to the atmosphere here it rusts at an accelerated level. "The coin then expands and that's putting pressure on the joint near the edge so we have seen on a number of places here that the corners have popped off."And the rusting metal in there is starting to leach. The iron and nickel and copper is leaching out over the rocks and it looks unsightly."He said they're appealing to people to stop inserting the coins before more damage is done to these 60-million-year-old rocks."On a geological timescale, this is very rapid erosion." A report from the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland shed some light on the Kirstin Lemon said: "The advice of the Geological Survey to the National Trust is to see if we can remove as many of those coins as we can."By removing them, it means we're stopping any further physical impact on the site itself. We're also stopping that chemical impact as well."She said she hoped that by removing coins, it would stop others adding more.A specialist stonemason has started the work and has removed about 10% of them so far."He's done some test sites already so we know we can take these coins out without doing damage to the stones themselves," said Dr Henry."We want him to do it - we don't want the general public to do that, we don't want to cause any further damage." Signs will also be put up and visitors are already warned not to insert the coins by tour guides at the Giant's Causeway, like Mark Adams."I think it's a simple thing of wanting to leave something of themselves behind," he said."But if you want to leave something behind, take a photo, put it online, it'll be there forever."Last year, the Giant's Causeway received about 684,000 visits. The numbers are steadily climbing back to their pre-pandemic levels. There were nearly a million visits in 2019. The National Trust said not only is it Northern Ireland's most valuable natural phenomenon, it is important for the economy too."It's an icon for Northern Ireland - if we can't look after this, what's the hope for the rest of the country?," said Dr Henry."We really need to be looking after the causeway as best we can."
RNZ News
20-05-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Resident warns ratepayers could face hefty bill to save part of Waitangi's waterfront
Long-time Paihia resident Ross Robertson inspects the disappearing Waitangi waterfront. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf A long-time Bay of Islands resident says ratepayers could face a hefty bill to save part of Waitangi's waterfront from disappearing into the sea - a problem that could have been averted with a few hours' work when he first raised the alarm almost a year ago. Ross Robertson, of Paihia, said a roughly 100-metre stretch of waterfront from the Waitangi roundabout toward Te Tii Marae had receded by up to six metres in places, exposing stormwater pipes, and undermining trees and benches. The eroded bank was now just a few metres from Te Karuwha Parade, Waitangi's waterfront road. Robertson said the erosion began in mid-2024 when sand mounded up by a storm blocked the outlet of a stormwater drain near the roundabout. Unable to flow directly out to sea, the stream carved a new path parallel to the shore, heading northwest towards the marae. Long-time Paihia resident Ross Robertson inspects the disappearing Waitangi waterfront. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf Since then the stream had been cutting away at what used to be a grassed area above the beach. One bench had been removed when it became unsafe and its concrete base had fallen into the stream; another was set to follow, along with a couple of mature pōhutukawa. "Since July 2024 I've been fighting with the council to try and get something done," he said. The council had told him erosion was a natural part of coastal environments and could not be controlled. Robertson, however, said the erosion at Waitangi was the result of a blocked drainage channel, not natural wave action. Instead of going straight out to sea, stormwater now flows parallel to the shore towards Te Tii Marae. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf "They've claimed everything from it being a regional council problem to being foreshore erosion, but it's clearly a matter of a flooding drain." He said the problem came to a head during Cyclone Tam because of the sheer volume of water gushing through the stormwater outlet. The 67-year-old, who has lived in Paihia much of his life, said storms blocked the outlet every few years. When he was younger, the council's solution was to use a backhoe to dig a direct path for stormwater to flow to the sea. "This isn't the first time something like this has happened. It's the first time it hasn't been addressed formally, and it's caused a lot of subsequent damage and likely expense." In the meantime a family from nearby Ōpua had taken it upon themselves to carry out a temporary fix. Stormwater pipes show how far the land has receded. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf Robertson said the family turned up with a wheelbarrow and shovels to dig a new outlet to the sea. He said the stream's new course was not in the ideal location but was the best that could be done with hand tools, and had reduced the length of waterfront exposed to erosion by about half. Robertson said his enquiries finally appeared to be getting some traction, with the council's Climate Action team telling him it was investigating. He said Paihia's economy relied almost entirely on tourism, and tourism depended on the town's beaches. "If we're going to let the beaches erode, then really we have very little to offer, and it will impact tourism," he said. Robertson said the next storm would likely overwhelm the locals' temporary fix, and the water could revert to sweeping northwards up the beach. A pōhutukawa tree next to the stormwater outlet has been seriously undermined. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf It wouldn't take much to erode another two to three metres to the road's edge, he said. The Far North District Council had not responded to requests for comment by publication time. The Northland Regional Council said it had been made aware of the erosion, which was occurring in the road reserve administered by the Far North District Council - and possibly also in land alongside the State Highway 11 roundabout managed by NZTA. Regional council regulatory services manager Colin Dall said, given the risk to roading, it was in the interest of the relevant road controlling authority to carry out erosion protection work. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Sun
20-05-2025
- The Sun
Pretty English seaside village with secluded beach that could disappear in 25 years
A SEASIDE village in the UK is at risk of disappearing for good. Happisburgh in Norfolk is known for being it's archeological importance, having the oldest known human footprints outside of Africa. 4 4 However, it is now at risk of disappearing in the next 25 years. High levels of erosion are affecting the Norfolk coastline and nd Happisburgh in particular has been hit hard, with around 250m lost since 1990. Climate analyst Dr Ian Richards, who is an expert in coastal erosion, warned that it's disappearance is "already underway". He explained: 'What's happening in places like Happisburgh isn't just a prediction - it's a process that's already underway. " Homes have collapsed, roads have disappeared and the cliff line is retreating faster than anyone expected." He added: "Sea defences were built decades ago for a very different climate - now, they're no match for the pressure we're seeing year after year." Back in 2012, several projects costing £3million were put towards preventing any further erosion. But this hasn't stopped a number of houses being abandoned because of the crumbling cliffs. Yet some tourists said they will still be visiting, with one saying the beach is like "beautiful and quiet - like stepping back in time". Dr Richards also said tourists should keep visiting, adding: "Because once it's gone, it's gone." Stunning seaside village you've probably never heard of named among the best in the UK…and it's not packed with tourists The main attraction of Happisburgh is it's iconic red and white striped lighthouse, dating back to the 18th century and is one of the oldest working ones in the UK. There is also The Hill House Inn, a cosy pub and B&B near the beach, and the Happisburgh Village Shop selling souvenirs. It's not the only part of the UK at risk of the beach disappearing. In 2024, the East Yorkshire coastline saw up to 12m of coastal erosion, an extremely high rate compared to the rest of the UK. Because of this, Barmston Beach - once a Blue Flag beach - has since seen huge parts of the seaside disappear, which has even stopped access to the beach theme park. In Southport, too much sand could also make the main beach disappear, as it could turn into inaccessible vegetation instead. 4 Former Southport MP Sefton Lib Dem councillor John Pugh explained: "Nature is being allowed to take her course and that could mean the total greening of the Southport foreshore or letting it become an inaccessible mudflat plain - good for birds but not for holidaymakers." Some seaside town's have revealed major plans to reduce the rate of erosion. Blackpool is investing £30million in beach defences with new groynes on Anchorsholme Beach. Similar plans are in place across Brighton & Hove, with the plans costing around £11million. And Yaverland on the Isle of Wight wants to raise the sea wall to also slow the rate of erosion - but will cost £40.6million. 4
BBC News
20-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
East Yorkshire coastal communities invited to discuss erosion
People have been asked to share their experiences of living on one of the fastest eroding coasts in have been set up following the release of new maps which provide updated forecasts of the scale and impact of erosion on the East Riding of to the local authority land is lost at an average rate of up to 15ft (4.5m) per Barbara Jefferson said: "It's vital that we work together to plan a long-term future for our coastal communities." Residents and businesses attending the events will have the opportunity to share their priorities and concerns and discover how they can participate in planning the future of their coastal events are funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as part of the £200m Flood and Coastal Innovation 2023 the council secured £15m of funding to tackle the effects of erosion and held similar events for local people.A year later a report warned that about 1,100 properties along the East Yorkshire coast could be lost to erosion by Environment Agency said that if preventative measures, such as sea defences, were not built, the figure could be five times greater and found that 115,200 properties were at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers and the sea in the Yorkshire and Humber year the council agreed to contribute £800,000 to a new housing development for people in East Yorkshire who were displaced by coastal added: "I highly encourage local residents to book their place for these workshops so they are able to attend, and share their priorities and concerns about this vital issue."The workshops will be held:•Holmpton – Tuesday 20 May – 10:00-12:30 BST•Withernsea – Wednesday 21 May – 18:00-20:30•Easington – Thursday 22 May – 13:00-15:30•Skipsea- Friday13 June-13:00-15:30•Aldbrough- Tuesday 17 June-14:00-16:30•Barmston – Tuesday 24 June-10:00-12:30•Bridlington- Tuesday 1 July-17:00-19:30•Mappleton-Monday 7 July-14:00-16:30•Hornsea-Monday 28 July-17:00-19:30The council said there will be support with transport where possible. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
ABC News
19-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Wild winds and big surf batter the Central Coast
Coastal erosion is a concern for people living on the beachfront of Wamberal and The Entrance as a prolonged weather system bears down on the NSW.
