I suspect it's been inhabited for a long time. There are a lot of places like that on the coast -- Hull, Nahant, Winthrop. The lower 4/5 of Plum Island is a nature preserve. Maybe before too long the upper fifth will follow.
Posted on 03/09/2013 8:23:33 AM PST by GQuagmire
That's not really possible here. Plum Island is really more like a glorified sand bar.
I'm really sorry to hear this. Before I escaped from The Peoples Republic of MA, I used to go there to photograph the sunrise.
They need to check out Galveston Texas and the storm of 1900, still the worst natural disaster (6000 to 10,000 lives lost) to hit the US. Amazing what the people were able to do with man and horse power.
Those houses that have collapsed are pretty close to the main road that runs parallel to the beach. Sooner rather than later there will be a breech between the houses and the ocean will run right onto the road and will do a lot more damage that a few houses toppled over....
But everyone who hears these words of mine
and does not put them into practice
is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house,
and it fell with a great crash."
I suspect it's been inhabited for a long time. There are a lot of places like that on the coast -- Hull, Nahant, Winthrop. The lower 4/5 of Plum Island is a nature preserve. Maybe before too long the upper fifth will follow.
People used to build cabanas on the beach, because they better understood nature.
If you can't afford to rebuild out of pocket, you probably shouldn't be building on a sandy beach.
Over-wash due to storm and peak lunar cycles has been happening on east coast barrier islands since they were created.
The Outer Banks in NC are full of 4-5 story “beach” house...Rent anywhere from 5 to 8 thousand a week....
They are constantly being moved or re-supported...The “locals ususally live in one story low roofed homes back away from the beaches...
Much of the coast is buildable, as long as you don’t get too near the beach, except in bays or inlets.
But barrier islands are like this by nature. They are mostly sand, and they shift at least a little with every storm or unusually high tide. That means that houses along the outer beach are subject to these problems, and may have to be moved after a storm.
Rocky barriers can help, but then of course you get into trouble with idiot environmentalists. Put in a wall of boulders and you’re liable to crush a few crabs and starfish in the process.
If we could just abolish the EPA and similar organizations, things would go a bit better. But anyone who builds a house on the beach of a barrier island needs to be rich enough to occasionally fix it or move it. It’s a nice lifestyle, but it’s an expensive one. No reason why other people should pay for it.
Sea walls? Protective dunes? I saw a documentary recently about that huge earthquake and tsunami that Japan experienced a year or two ago.During one portion they focused on events in one seaside town which had spent millions on a huge,and complex,tsunami wall which was supposed to protect the area.Well,the sea got through...quite easily,it was said...and absolutely *devastated* that town/area.Mother Nature is powerful.She *will* not be denied.
If it wasn’t for global warming, george W bush, right wing Christians, or a god who couldn’t build a planet that didn’t have shifting plates or something, then the winds of the ocean waves would not be tearing down the shore line that was created billions of years ago and NEVER CHANGED by earth mother Giai until all the former got involved. (sarc off)
Different Plum Island
Ah yea, saw that. Big place, the US :).
Go look at where people lived 100-200 years ago (or more). Chances are many of the places people live now where unpopulated or sparsely populated back then. There’s probably a reason for that. I think it was in the 1920’s when there was a land boom in Floriduh. Until that point it was regarded as a mosquito infested swamp and nobody wanted to go there or live there. (Yes I know Saint Augustine is like the oldest city in the US or whatever). I’m just saying that if our ancestors from long ago could see some of the places we have chosen to live they would be shaking their heads.
Matthew 7
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Sorry, posted before reading all the responses.
It’s an FR tradition!
Mark
I would put money on it that they have gov or state taxpayer subsidized insurance for their dwellings due to private property insurers either a) would not insure property or b) it would be exhorbitantly high due to the risk.
So no pity for these people. They like anyone living on the coast from Corpus Christi to Maine are probably at the government trough via taxpayer subsidized property insurance. And if it weren’t for the taxpayer subsidized insurance they would not be there or would have to pay the true cost of living there, which I would bet most couldn’t afford witout the subsidy.
Thanks for your responses and info. I have to remember to do research before shooting off a question.
Mother Nature does indeed wreak havoc in every place on earth and we are well informed of the dangers: hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, mudslides, sinkholes, etc., The one obvious risk that could be avoided, or mitigated is ocean tides. Build high and away from the water or don’t build at all. Plum Beach is a sand bar!!!!!!
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