FEMA: Erosion threatens 87,000 coastal buildings in U.S.

Major storms can erode 100 feet of coastline in one day, threatening buildings built close to the shore

June 27, 2000
Web posted at: 1:32 p.m. EDT (1732 GMT)

In this story: More hurricanes could spell trouble Debate over erosion management Total losses almost $1 billion a year RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

WASHINGTON -- About 25 percent of buildings within 500 feet of U.S. coastlines will fall victim to erosion in the next six decades, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday.

Almost 87,000 homes and other buildings stand on land likely to wash away into the oceans or the Great Lakes during that time, a FEMA study concluded.

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"The findings are sobering. I am not trying to paint a doomsday scenario," FEMA Director James Lee Witt told reporters.

Costs of erosion damage to the owners of homes and other buildings are expected to average more than $500 million per year, with the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts particularly at risk, according to the study.

"This information is especially important in light of the fact that more and more people are moving to our coastal areas," Witt said.

If the sea levels rise as some scientists are predicting, the impact will be even worse. Climatologists report that the nation appears to be entering a period of increased hurricane activity. The additional storms can be expected to increase the coastal erosion threat.

In many areas, improved construction and raising homes on posts has improved the ability to survive storms, creating an unexpected result after storms that cause severe erosion, said William Seitz of Texas A&M University at Galveston.

Now, houses that would simply have tumbled in the past remain standing, but out in the water, he said. They have to be condemned anyway because their septic systems can no longer function.

The National Park Service moved the Cape Hatteras, N.C. lighthouse to protect it from erosion at a cost of $9.8 million

Outside of storms, erosion is often a gradual process, but it can be relentless. The state of Louisiana, for example, loses 25 square miles (65 square km) of ocean wetlands a year, Witt said.

Its impact is also illustrated by the problem of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which was 1,500 feet from the shore when erected in 1870.

By 1987 the lighthouse was in danger of falling victim to erosion. Finally, last year, the National Park Service moved it back 2,900 feet at a cost of $9.8 million.

The cost of moving homes is beyond the means of many people.

The FEMA study was ordered by Congress during a debate over how best to manage coastal erosion, currently handled piecemeal by a mix of federal, state and local agencies.

"It is now time to renew public dialogue about how we can lower the risks to life and property and reduce the costs from the inevitable consequences of coastal erosion," Witt said.

The John H. Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment conducted the study. The Washington research organization estimated that 338,000 structures are within 500 feet of the coasts in the 48 contiguous states and Hawaii.

It did not include Alaska or such large coastal cities as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami, which it said are heavily protected against erosion.

Of 86,600 structures that erosion threatens over the next 60 years, 53,000 are on the Atlantic Coast, 16,000 are on the Great Lakes, 13,000 are along the Gulf of Mexico and 4,600 are on the Pacific Coast.

338,000 structures are within 500 feet of the coast in the 48 contiguous states and Hawaii, the report said

Rates of erosion vary greatly from place to place, with some of the highest, six feet a year, occurring in parts of the Gulf of Mexico.

A major storm can erode the coastline 100 feet in one day, the report noted, though much of that loss may be restored over the following years.

The cost of lost and damaged property because of erosion was estimated at $530 million per year for property owners alone. In addition the report estimated costs of $410 million annually to communities for loss of land and structures.

Federal flood insurance, for damage caused by floods and storms, would pay about $80 million of this total at current enrollment rates, the study said. Even at 100 percent enrollment the insurance would cover only about $200 million of the costs.

The study recommended that Congress direct FEMA to develop erosion hazard maps for coastal areas and to include the cost of expected erosion losses when setting flood insurance rates in coastal areas.

It also suggested several other options for dealing with the threat, including:

  • Establish Coastal High Hazard Zones that include both flood and erosion risks.

  • Impose mandatory surcharges on flood insurance in these zones to add coverage for erosion.

  • Impose regulatory measures such as requiring building setbacks to reduce potential damage.

  • Require communities to impose building standards that take into account future flood potential because of erosion.

  • Provide erosion insurance for bluff areas.

  • Provide relocation help or buyouts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Preservation Reports
The H.John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment

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