Rio’s famous beaches take battering as scientists issue climate change warning

Scientists in Rio de Janeiro have warned that the city’s sea defences may not be able to cope with the effects of climate change after a record storm surge swamped beaches, dumping hundreds of tonnes of sand across nearby roads and buildings. This shows the high degree of vulnerability to climate change in Brazil, which has 7,400km of shoreline and 25% of its population living on the coast.

Before and After Photos: SE Beach Dunes Lost to Hurricane Matthew

New low-altitude aerial photos of Southeastern beaches taken before and after Hurricane Matthew passed offshore show a new storm-cut inlet, and roads, dunes and structures lost. Hurricane Matthew’s storm surge and waves overwashed about 15 percent of the sand dunes on Florida’s Atlantic coast, 30 percent along Georgia’s coastline, and 42 percent of dunes on South Carolina’s sandy beaches.

The Beach Boondoggle; Op Ed by Robert Young

Hurricane Matthew was not a megadisaster like Superstorm Sandy or Hurricane Katrina, but if precedent holds, simply rebuilding the beaches may cost federal taxpayers billions of dollars.

As the climate warms, we are ‘primed’ for worse storms than Sandy

With the climate warming and the sea level rising, conditions are ripe for storms deadlier and more devastating than Sandy that put more people at risk. If damaging storms become more frequent, retreat from areas with mounting repetitive losses will become a topic of discussion.