Poised on the frontlines of climate change, the world's most vulnerable shoreline communities face an uncertain future. Plagued by ever-worsening coastal erosion and rising sea levels, their existence hangs precariously in the balance. As the tide continues to draw in, click or scroll to see 17 towns being gradually reclaimed by the ocean...

Residents had to be evacuated, with some properties deemed uninhabitable. The condemned buildings have since been demolished. Many other structures in the city are at risk – in 2018, the powers that be issued an enormous fine of nearly $1.5 million to the owners of a clifftop apartment complex for failing to carry out adequate repairs to the bluff where the block sits.

A report on climate change and the marine environment in Corsica published in 2018 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature concluded that global warming was contributing to the area's erosion issues, predicting that extreme storm events in the future and rising sea levels will put the coastline at increasing risk. The report urged the town's authorities to address the perilous situation, sooner rather than later. 

A warmer world means fiercer and more frequent storms and ever more damaging waves and storm surges, which doesn't bode well for places like Happisburgh on England's east coast, one of the fastest eroding shorelines in Europe. Battling for survival against the sea, Happisburgh's soft clay and sand cliffs have been crumbling for the past 5,000 years, and over the last two decades, at least 35 homes have been lost to the waves.

Today, Le Signal stands around 40 feet from the encroaching Atlantic. The building was evacuated in 2014 and subsequently condemned, following a succession of eight winter storms that caused rapid erosion to the coastline. Having lost the fight with Mother Nature, it patiently awaits demolition.

The worst storm of recent years hit in June 2016. Towering waves whipped up by strong winds pounded the shoreline, smashing up beachfront homes and infrastructure. The storm coincided with a severely high 'king tide' that magnified its effects. All in all, 164 feet of coastline vanished.

Currently, around 20 homes are under immediate threat and a further 100 have been deemed vulnerable. Fortunately, plans are afoot to construct a multimillion-pound rock berm to protect the village, while in the meantime, according to the Eastern Daily Press, one resident has taken it upon himself to build his own defenses to ensure the survival of his home at a cost of $130,000 and rising.

The authorities have responded by issuing homeowners with permits to install tarps filled with sand in front of their homes, but these so-called 'sand burritos' are merely temporary and a long-term solution to deal with the eroding coastline is proving elusive.

Cliffhanging properties that impinge on a 10-foot buffer face the threat of being demolished unless they can be supported by caissons. Formerly the buffer was just five feet. While the new rule may protect residents for the time being, no long-term solution has yet been offered up. 

The owners of beach homes in the area have gone to great lengths to protect their investments. They've clubbed together to construct a sea wall and imported huge amounts of sand to repair the beach, but as the planet warms, these efforts may have to be stepped up significantly.

Constructed on low-lying swampy land that is gradually sinking, many homes experience nightmarish flooding. Already, almost half of Jakarta sits below sea level and as the global level rises, the future prospects for the city are grim, to say the least.

The issues Jakarta faces are being worsened by the aggressive extraction of groundwater for day-to-day use, which has led to increased subsidence. The authorities have responded to the existential threat by constructing the $40 billion Great Garuda, a vast 15-mile sea wall, but only time will tell if the megaproject will be enough to save Jakarta...

The devastation inflicted on the city by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 elicited a major response from the authorities. Since then, over 350 miles of floodwalls, levees and other coastal defenses have been constructed at a cost of $20 billion. Nevertheless, many experts believe a lot more needs to be done to protect New Orleans and prevent the city from being inundated in the future. 

This is by no means a new phenomenon in Wamberal – homes were destroyed back in 1974 and 1978 too, however, in the aftermath of the storms in 2016, a rather dark secret came to light. Asbestos was found scattered along the beach after erosion revealed building waste buried in the sand dunes, with more of the hazardous material discovered following July's devastation, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Fast action will be necessary if there's any hope of curbing the environmental disaster in this toxic town.

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