RENACA, Chile (Reuters)  - Chile’s central and southern coastlines are experiencing severe coastal erosion that could cause at least 10 beaches to vanish within the next decade, according to a team of researchers from the Universidad Católica’s Coastal Observatory.

“It will be very difficult for these beaches to survive the next 10 years,” said Carolina Martínez, director of the Observatory, during a visit to Renaca beach near the popular tourist city of Vina del Mar, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

The research team has been monitoring 67 beaches, finding that 86% are shrinking, even during the spring and summer months when beaches typically recover. The erosion rate at 10 high-risk beaches has doubled compared to 2023 levels.

Scientists attribute the crisis to a combination of climate change-related factors and human activities. Intense and more frequent swells, rising sea levels, heavy rainfall, and heat waves are accelerating erosion, while urban development along coastlines and the degradation of river basins that supply sand to beaches are exacerbating the problem.

In Puerto Saavedra, located in the southern Araucanía region, storm surges have created sinkholes in roads and cliffs, isolating some communities and damaging nearby forests. Businesses in popular tourist areas like Valparaíso are also feeling the impact.

“Last year was brutal … the beach disappeared,” said María Harris, owner of a beachfront restaurant in Valparaíso. “There was no space between us and the sea.”

Despite the risks, construction continues along Chile’s coastline, often near vulnerable wetlands and dunes. Martínez warned that the consequences are not only environmental: “We’re transferring the cost of these disasters to fishermen, coastal communities, and the tourism sector.”

（Source: https://www.reuters.com  )