Wamberal cliffs: Beach erosion leaves homes under threat
Wamberal residents whose multimillion-dollar homes are teetering on the verge of collapse face another nervous wait with a high tide this evening expected to cause further damage.
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Some residents have self-evacuated while another hired a crane to drop large concrete blocks at the back of his property as days of big swells have caused massive erosion along Wamberal Beach.
Several properties have been directly impacted with backyards, shade sails and private steps washed away exposing bare rock at the foot of homes.
Now residents have another nervous wait with a high tide this evening expected to cause further damage as more large cracks appear in people’s yards.
State Government engineers were this morning on site talking to residents and inspecting damage.
“Everyone wants to come and have a look but no one wants to help,” one affected resident, who declined to give his name, said.
A planned meeting between residents and Central Coast Council in August about plans for a revetment wall may be too little too late for some homes that are now perched overlooking what has become a 9-10m cliff down to rocks and the ocean.
Resident Margaret Brice said a proposed revetment wall for the beach had been part of local council and State Government coastal management plans for years but authorities “just have not got off their hands” to do anything about it.
This is despite the state government committing $207,500 for council to design the wall at a total project cost of $415,00 in 2018.
Ms Brice said four people evacuated as the high tide threatened to undercut homes last night with another high tide to hit later this evening.
“They knew this was happening,” she said of Wamberal’s long-running erosion issues which date back to the 1970s.
“It’s not just about the beachfront houses, it’s about the infrastructure along Ocean View Drive.
“We’re at the top of the dam wall, we’re 9m above sea level and the road is 3m above sea level, if we go hundreds of homes will be inundated. It’s an absolute disaster.”
Councillors Greg Best and Bruce McLachlan have written to the Mayor calling for council to hold an extraordinary meeting as soon as possible to get a proper briefing from staff about the unfolding crisis.
“The outcome of any such meeting would simply be to prevent homes from falling into the sea,” their letter read.
A council spokeswoman said teams had been on the ground checking in on residents in impacted areas, and continuing to monitor coastal infrastructure and coastal lagoon levels — responding as required to protect our community and environment.
“We have been onsite working with residents and the NSW SES, monitoring the situation in Wamberal in particular to help keep everyone informed and safe as the situation evolves,” she said.
Terrigal State Liberal MP Adam Crouch said it was imperative that council immediately place temporary structures like sandbags on Wamberal Beach.
“It is also imperative that council engage personnel like geotechnical and coastal engineering experts that are needed to assist community members,” he said.
“The NSW Government has committed to financially assist Council with these measures.”
Residents faced a nervous wait overnight Friday with one resident hiring a crane to lower concrete blocks at the back of his property.
Fire & Rescue crews were in attendance should the erosion continue and homes become lost.
Coastal erosion has been an ongoing issue at Wamberal for years but this week’s big seas have caused more damage than the 2007 “Pasha Bulker” storm and is only rivalled by the 1974 storm which claimed several houses.
Councillor Jilly Pilon was one of dozens of people inspecting the damage and said council was sending out structural engineers to inspect the damage.
She said council had secured a grant to design plans for a revetment wall in June and had planned to meet with residents in August.
Meanwhile a State Government engineer said he had been sent from Newcastle to assess the situation.
Terrigal State Liberal MP Adam Crouch was also at the scene this morning trying to co-ordinate the government’s response.
Huge seas meanwhile continue to batter the coastline with fears of more erosion.