Coasts Case Studies Flashcards
(5 cards)
Holderness Coast
A section of coastline in East England experiencing up to 2m of erosion per year due to a coastline made of primarily soft boulder clay
One storm caused 26m of cliff retreat in 2008 and 30 coastal villages have been lost to erosion
An ICZM has been put in place, protecting some areas such as Mappleton wih £2 million of revetments, beach nourishment and groynes, and Easington Power Terminal with £4.5 million of rock armour, while other areas such as Spurn Head which are not being protected and may lead to the loss of some homes and roads
Happisburgh
850 population village in Norfolk experiencing rapid coastal recession
Government ICZM implemented a do nothing strategy in 1995 as defending Happisburgh would have larger impacts along the coast and doing nothing saves the government £15 million
As a result 25 houses have been lost to the sea since 1995
The Maldives
Will likely be fully submerged by 2100 as it has an average height of only 1.5m above sea level
Social Impacts: Forces 500k people to relocate, separating communities. Also means many houses and property are susceptible to being submerged leaving many homeless
Economic: $4.5 billion a year tourism industry is at threat if the airport is damaged by flooding
Political: Had to seek closer ties with countries like Japan, India and Australia for sea wall funding (requested $60 million from Japan for a 3m sea wall around Male) and has looked to purchase land in India and Australia to rehome the population
Environmental: Loss of beaches and soil from the flooding destroys habitats, 26% of mangroves damaged in a sea-level caused dieback event in the Maldives in 2020
Cyclone Sidr
November 2011, Bangladesh was vulnerable due to low development, 80 million people within 10m of sea level and located in floodplains of Ganges. Mangrove forests like the Sundarbans which protected against floods demolished for shrimp farms
3447 - 15000 deaths, $2.31 billion of damage and 25% of Sundarbans damaged
2013 North Sea Floods
Caused by low air pressure and winds of up to 200kph in areas like Scotland
Caused coastal flooding in East England and North Wales, killing 2 and leading to the flooding of 1,400 homes causing £100 million of costs
The Thames Barrier protected London as did sea walls in the Netherlands which consequently saw no deaths
