Volulsia, Flagler County, FL Beaches Narrower Than In Past; Gee, I Wonder Why . . .

[hatrack]

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Historic photos of the beach indicate that the beach is more narrow now than in the past. A photo from the News Smyrna Beach Museum of History that appears to be from the 1930s or 1940s shows a beach so wide that four lanes of cars could drive down the middle of it, with room for cars to park on both sides. Another photo in The News-Journal’s archives believed to be from the 1960s shows how at low tide the surf receded so much that a car could park on the hard-packed sand on the east side of the building atop the Daytona Beach pier. In contrast, at low tide on a recent calm day, the surf never receded past the west side of the building on the pier.

Ed Fee, who has visited the area every winter since 1972, said his winter home in Daytona Beach is by a dock on the Halifax River. When he first moved there, the water was at a comfortable level beneath the dock. But now, even on a clear day with flat surf, the dock will go underwater at high tide. “It’s happening more often,” he said as he walked on the beach last week. “You won’t be able to get on this far on the beach soon,” he said. “It’s really changed, but I still love it.”

Susan Park of Daytona Beach lives about a quarter-mile from the beach. She likes to go walking on the beach. But she said the beach has changed since she was a child. “The water is getting closer and closer to the sea wall,” said Park, 53. “You hit high tide, and you start to run out of beach.” Park said the only time it’s easy to walk on the sand now is at low tide. Once high tide starts to come in, she’s “constantly having to walk up on the boardwalk.”

Because of this, and because Park comes from a mathematically-geared family, she decided to look into the science behind rising sea levels. According to a NASA article she shared with The News-Journal, satellites that have collected 25 years of data from the ocean suggest sea levels are rising .13 inches every year, or about an inch every eight years. In addition, the speed with which the oceans are rising is increasing.

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https://www.news-journalonline.com/news/20191123/are-volusia-beaches-narrower-than-in-past

[exboyfil]

1. The turtles are doomed

My mom owns a house between the beach and the Halifax River (a little closer to the beach). There really isn't much of a beach until you get up to the berm.

Housing prices have definitely recovered around her, but I wonder for how long. She likes living there, but I have no interest in it.