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The world’s beaches are running out of sand
From Miami to Barcelona and Australia’s Gold Coast, governments are trying to save shorelines where climate change is accelerating.
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Sand acts as a natural barrier against extreme weather, including flooding.
PHOTO: WORLDVENTURES
Eva Xiao
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Summer in Rodanthe, a small community found on the sliver of islands that make up the Outer Banks of North Carolina, is in full swing. The peak season brings in holidaymakers who come to enjoy the area’s stunning waterfront. But in winter, it is not just the crowds that disappear, a little bit of the shoreline goes, too.
Each year, Rodanthe loses 3m to 4½m of its beach to erosion – one of the fastest rates on the US east coast – and the consequences are severe. Since 2020, 11 homes have collapsed into the ocean, with more next in line.
