Imagine you are a surfer padding through a large set. Suddenly, you start getting pummeled by the waves, one after the other. Each wave that hits you wears you down more and more. You become increasingly exhausted. At some point, something has to change or else you might not make it through.
This is what’s happening to coastlines all across the country, from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to the sandy beaches of Southern California. When coastal issues wash up repeatedly in communities, it becomes harder and harder for them to bounce back. Ultimately, this is a policy problem; something needs to change in order to give communities the chance to be resilient in the face of climate change.
What’s Happening to our Coasts? Seas are Rising & Storms Keep Coming.
Have you ever wondered “Huh, I don’t remember my favorite beach looking like this” or “My favorite summer beach rental definitely did not used to be this close to the shoreline”. If so, you’re not wrong and here’s why: we are losing our beaches and we are losing them fast.
There are many reasons why we are losing our beaches. First of all, sea level rise is occurring across the world, current estimates record an average 8-9 inch rise from 1980 to 2023. The science here is simple: warmer temperatures expand seawater through thermal expansion and melt ice sheets and glaciers. Together, these processes contribute to sea level rise which explains why our beaches are feeling a little closer to home than they have in the past. To complicate this story further, sea level rise does not occur at a linear rate, it is actually accelerating.
However, sea level rise is just one ingredient to beach loss, another key reason is increasing storm intensity and frequency. Have you seen the headlines lately? El Niño, nor’easters, and hurricanes are slamming coasts across the U.S. and acutely impacting areas like Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Not only are coastal communities impacted, but inland communities are also facing devastation from severe flooding. For example, Hurricane Helene brought devastation to the Southern Appalachians in 2024 when this storm system took an unexpected path from the coast to the mountains. Since storms are intensifying and occurring more frequently than they have in the past, resilience mechanisms are critical to safeguard the communities and places we love.
What Issues are Washing Up? Coastal Erosion & Flooding.
With rising seas and storm activity, the big issues washing up on our coasts are coastal erosion and flooding. Coastal erosion occurs when sand is removed from a beach and transported elsewhere resulting in shoreline recession. Higher sea levels and heavier waves hit the beach and push out sand, leaving shorelines more and more barren over time. Coastal flooding happens in low-lying coastal areas when king tides, storm surges, seiches (storm surges on large lakes), or strong wave action occurs. With rising sea levels, coastal flooding is often not too far behind episodes of severe coastal erosion.
This year, coastal erosion and coastal flooding episodes have been washing up all over the country. For example, in the Southeast, communities in the Outer Banks are experiencing a combination of erosion and flooding making resilience very difficult. Since 2020, over 30 homes on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore have collapsed into the water, leaving a trail of marine debris behind. N.C. Highway 12, the primary link between Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the mainland, is also subject to frequent flooding that cuts off access points for the local communities. In the Northeast, a recent nor’easter brought major flooding and large-scale impacts to the Jersey Shore. On the other side of the country, communities living along Capistrano Beach in California are facing severe coastal erosion after Hurricane Marie rocked the coastline. These are just three examples of many places across the U.S. experiencing extreme coastal problems which inhibit their communities’ ability to be resilient.
What Can We Do About It? Taking Action in Congress & Your Community.
The bad news is, there is no silver bullet policy solution to address the array of issues washing up in our communities. Beach nourishment and hardened coastal structures may work in the short-term and in specific locations, but they drain taxpayer dollars while offering local benefits that do not preserve beaches long-term. However, there are other options out there which offer pathways for long-term resilience. In fact, there are many policies already working to confront these issues and many more in the works which we can raise our voices about.
For example, in 2025, an important bill was introduced in Congress called the Prevent Environmental Hazards Act by United States Representative Greg Murphy. This bill addresses an important problem connected to increasing erosion and flooding: flood insurance. Currently, the National Flood Insurance Program does not allow for communities to take preventative action against flooding and coastal erosion. Rather, property owners can only tap into flood insurance money after water has wiped out their property. What does this look like in real time? Homes crumble into the ocean because insurance money only kicks in once the damage has been done. Alternatively, the Prevent Environmental Hazards Act would allow insurance money to subsidize relocation or demolition of at-risk structures before the damage occurs. Ultimately, this policy would give communities the chance to move out of harm's way and towards a resilient future.
This week at the Surfrider Foundation, we are celebrating our first ever Surfrider Climate Week. To be clear, we aren’t celebrating the ways that climate change has washed up a slew of coastal issues in our communities. Instead, we are choosing to celebrate the fact that nature knows how to fight back. Surfrider’s Climate Action Program (CAP) provides an outlet for communities to support this fight. In addition to taking action by raising our voices for policy change, communities can also leverage nature based solutions like restoring dunes, mangroves, and salt-marshes with CAP. Nature based solutions in tandem with practical policy solutions will support the vitality of coastal communities and their beaches long-term.
Coastal issues may be washing up in our communities fast but we have the tools needed to create resilience. Help us take action today to protect our oceans, waves, and beaches for all people by participating in a CAP event or staying tuned into our Coasts and Climate campaigns across the country!