01-07-2025
Central Coast residents asked to leave beachside homes amid erosion fears
Beachfront property owners have been told to leave their homes due to the threat of a wild weather system, while residents claim authorities' efforts to protect their homes have been ineffective.
Heavy rain and winds from an intense east coast low is lashing large parts of the NSW coast and generating powerful surf.
Volunteers from the NSW State Emergency Service have been doorknocking homes in Wamberal and North Entrance on the NSW Central Coast and asking residents to leave.
Wamberal Beach was thrashed by storms in July 2020, leaving some houses teetering on the brink of collapse.
Five years almost to the day, the same erosion problems remain with no clear solution in place.
Central Coast Council started emergency protection works on Tuesday morning, using large machinery to excavate sand and reinforce dunes in the vicinity of a handful of properties deemed at particular risk.
But the rising tide combined with powerful surf has already stripped much of that away.
Frustrated homeowners, including Warrern Hughes, likened the conditions to 2020.
Mr Hughes said the council's latest action was "insane" and should have happened much sooner.
"Ironically, they turned up on the day of the east coast low," he said.
"We've got 10 foot waves out the front.
"The absurd correction works they were doing, it's just insane to watch.
"They move along the beach, a wave comes in and removes the sand."
Residents have for weeks been calling for urgent action to address coastal erosion at the beach.
Their pleas became more desperate in recent days with forecasts of this week's wild weather.
In a letter to the council on Monday, they said they feared the predicted conditions could be "catastrophic" for homes and public infrastructure.
The council's preliminary estimate of the cost of building a seawall in 2022 was up to $40 million, with impacted residents expected to foot most of the bill.
Homeowner Chris Rogers acknowledged there was community opposition to ad-hoc property protection works but defended residents' need for immediate action "when you've got two metres left before the bank drops away to your doorstep".
"It's extremely frightening for people," he said.
NSW Minister for the Central Coast, David Harris, acknowledged residents' frustrations but said legal processes had to be followed.
New legislation in the pipeline has been designed to "speed up the normal processes" but Mr Harris said residents would always be required to submit a development application including an environmental impact statement.
"Any work that's done, can't have an adverse impact on the rest of the environment," he said.
The state government is involved in longer-term coastal erosion solutions, while the council and other emergency services work together on immediate protective measures.
Those measures have been delayed because Central Coast Council has not yet finalised its Coastal Management Plan.
On the NSW South Coast, Surfside resident Craig Lyttle said his house was battered every time there was a large swell event.
He said while he had been sandbagging in preparation, he still felt vulnerable.
"We live in fear every east coast low that is predicted," he said
Mr Lyttle said state and local governments had not done enough to address coastal erosion.
"This sand dune was built to protect the suburb of Surfside when the suburb was developed," he said.
"Now it's been reduced to nothing and we have no protection from the ocean and this is what happens."
Mr Lyttle said he used sand that washed into his yard during a storm surge earlier in the year to create a makeshift barrier.
"We probably had about 30 cubic metres of sand wash in, so we were able to hire a bobcat and the fellow did a wonderful job," he said.
"But we need a hard stand or a rock wall or something to protect our houses."
With the storm tracking further south and expected to bring hazardous surf and waves up to 10 metres, he has already sandbagged part of his property.
"We've sandbagged the back of the house, they are ones SES left here last time and we've got them at the back of our house," he said.
