Los Angeles Coastal Bluff Collapse Shows The Coast Is A Dangerous Place
The second day of August 2019 saw a deadly coastal bluff collapse bringing about the first major death along the Californian Coast since the 2008 collapse in San Diego. The Los Angeles Times reports there have been a number of incidents where beachgoers walking close to the cliffs have been buried or injured by falling rocks. The latest incident has highlighted a little considered aspect of the climate change debate in California. The state has long discussed how wildfires and drought are negatively impacting the region, but the issue of coastal erosion has been limited in the discussions taking place in California.
Coastal erosion is a part of the climate change debate that is not being discussed in the U.S. but has become a major part of the debate in European nations, such as the U.K. In the U.S., the Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans were going through a period of calm that has diminished in recent years. The melting icecaps of the North are bringing higher sea levels to areas where coastal defenses have not been implemented and the oceans are beginning to batter cliffs made of soft stone. Scientists reported by Phys.org explain the calm period for the oceans have now come to an end and the new ocean cycle is far more volatile.
The volatile nature of the oceans is providing a new set of problems to the U.S. on both the East and West Coasts where erosion is taking on different forms. Along the coast of North Carolina, the beaches of the state are disappearing at a fast rate with entire swathes of sand disappearing. In California, the problems are based more on the issue of cliff erosion being caused by rising sea levels and damaging weather conditions making cliffs steeper than ever before.
As the cliffs of California are damaged at their base close to sea level, the higher portions of the cliff remain untouched and become unstable. The problem for the people of California, whether visitors or residents is the fact these areas provide shade from the power of the sun throughout the warmest days of the year. At this point, the shelter they provide has become dangerous for all beachgoers as the chance to find shade goes hand-in-hand with the problem of the fear of cliff collapse. Local authorities have recently called on visitors to California’s beaches not to take shelter under bluffs as these have become some of the most dangerous areas on the beaches.
The fear for those working with the emergency services is that the cliff collapses are becoming more regular in their occurrences and could lead to more deaths and a range of injuries. Friday’s collapse led directly to the death fo one woman and injuries to a further three. San Diego has seen more than its fair share of bluff collapses in recent weeks with one cliff being the scene of three collapses in a single month. If this rate of collapse continues, a major rethink will have to take place regarding the level of use many beaches are now seeing.
The question remains, how should California and other states affected by coastal cliff erosion take on this problem to reduce the number of deaths possible in the future. In the U.K., The Independent reports coastal erosion has been occurring at a faster rate than government agencies had imagined leading to a desire for all groups to take a look at the choices all groups are being forced to make. Instead of simply looking at installing huge areas of coastal defenses, the U.K. government is looking to protect valuable regions and leave the coast to reclaim the areas many believe cannot be saved.
In California, similar choices look set to be made with the coastline already being left to be reclaimed by portions of the coastline largely through the inaction of political leaders. The drive to protect Californian Coast has been a major one with the decision about how to move forward not being taken at any high levels of politics. Many groups believe the decision to allow the coast to reclaim the cliffs is unworkable because of the high level of real estate value the coastline has when compared to other areas of the nation.
Rising sea levels have only just begun to become a major cause for concern in the U.S. because of the rising sea levels seen across the California Coast. If sea levels continue to rise at their current rate, the U.S. Geological Survey believes the state of California could lose over 100 feet in coastal regions by 2100. This level of coastal loss would cause major problems for coastal communities across the state where the issue of erosion is not yet being taken seriously.
The reason the cliffs of California are at such risk includes the fact they are made largely of sandstone, particularly the cliffs in the San Diego region. For the majority of the U.S., this is not the case, but in San Diego, the rising sea levels and regular storms are seeing water cause cracks to form in the cliffs. When these cliffs develop cracks they eventually see large chunks of sandstone splinter and fall to the ground causing problems for those using the long, narrow beaches of the region.
As the events of Friday are being investigated, the size of the disaster is finally becoming apparent and is seen as a rare occurrence that does not happen on a regular basis. Experts stated the usual level of fall for sandstone pieces from cliffs along the California coast is a chunk of the cliff around the size of a coffee pot appearing each day. Firefighters compared the sized of the cliff collapse as close to that of a hot tub and were not something that could have been warned about.
The question now facing the state of California is how best to handle the erosion problems of the sandstone cliffs that are causing major problems on an almost daily basis. Many scientists are calling for a slow retreat from the coast to allow the erosion to take place at its own rate and hope for it to halt at some point over the next century. Others are stating the best option to take will be a proactive approach with coastal walls and other defenses being constructed to limit the erosion as it occurs moving into the future. What first responders and scientists are in agreement about is that more awareness needs raising among beachgoers as the narrow beaches of certain parts of California are now so unstable more tragic events such as those on Friday could be seen in the near future.
