A bluffside collapse on Oahu’s North Shore reveals troubling trends for Hawaii
By Erin Coogan
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HALIEWA, Hawaii (KITV) — The bluff collapse on Oahu’s North Shore collapse is now prompting more widespread concern about similar happenings around the state’s shorelines.
Experts say in studying the trends of Hawaii’s coastal erosion and sea level rise, the threat to our islands is already critical and is only getting worse.
“This morning’s house on Sunset Beach is our local red flag that these processes are just beginning,” said Chip Fletcher, Dean of SOEST Hawaii.
Monday’s collapse offers a frightening glimpse into the future. The home destroying bluffside collapse is a direct reflection of years’ worth of global warming. It’s a reality Hawaii climate experts warn could become common place if the issues of sea level rise and coastal erosion are not addressed immediately.
“We need now a completely new coastal management approach that recognizes the inevitability of coastal erosion and land loss on sandy shorelines” Fletcher said.
Research conducted by the University of Hawaii’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology predicting the state sea level will rise one foot by the year 2050 and four feet by the end of the century. Local and state policy makers are also acknowledging the imminent threat to the islands.
“It’s actually going to wipe out 66% of the roadways on Oahu,” explained Rep. Patrick Branco. “It could displace up to $19-billion in critical infrastructure and so this really is a climate emergency.”
Preventative action in the form of a new bill is now being heard by the legislature, introducing a sea level adaptation and resilience plan for other parts the island.
“This is one of the first plans that actually tries to build a community based plan for the area of Waikiki,” Branco concluded.
In practice, solutions might look like moving critical infrastructure away from the coastlines, stopping the hardening of seawalls, and turning to other shoreline communities to see how they’re addressing issues.
Branco says he hope Introduction of Bill 1669 will help initiate further legislative action throughout the state.
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