Climate Change Causes House To Collapse Into Ocean

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Eroding land under several homes recently caused one to collapse into the ocean in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Record sea levels and a string of powerful hurricanes have driven beach erosion. Experts say global warming has caused the rise of the sea and violent storms.

According to The Guardian, it is the seventh in four years. “The collapse was probably caused by increased ocean swells due to Hurricane Ernesto, which made landfall in Bermuda early on Saturday, bringing winds of 85 mph and waves exceeding 35 ft (10.5 metres), and the result of beach erosion – a normal part of beach living that has worsened due to rising sea levels linked to the climate crisis, experts say.”

Home Insurance

The disaster is among the reasons that home insurance has skyrocketed from Key West well into the Carolinas. Some of these storms have pushed as far north as New England. Warm Atlantic waters are expected to make this worse. Hurricanes have already become a huge financial problem.

The beach erosion problem is not limited to the East Coast. In California, scientists say it is also a rising risk. In a recent article in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, the authors said wave heights have increased one foot in the last century. It is not unusual to see homes along the coast near Malibu tethering and ready to fall if another violent storm reaches the area.

Coasts Get Worse

The fact is that homes along America’s coast will be more and more likely to be swept out to sea. And, as is the case with other climate challenges, it cannot be reversed. Among other things, hurricanes get worse, according to the NOAA.