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Hawai'i Coastal Erosion Website

This site provides shoreline change data to assist in coastal zone decision making. 

Shorelines are highly variable environments characterized by a number of natural hazards, including tsunami, storm surge, high winds, coastal erosion, sea level rise, and high-wave overtopping. Building on eroding coasts increases vulnerability to all these hazards. When erosion threatens the built environment, a common reaction is to armor the shoreline with a seawall or revetment. However, armoring may impound sand, thereby impacting the sediment budget of a beach and exacerbating the erosion. Shoreline armoring also increases wave turbulence and reflection. 

This site provides sets of historical maps and air photos, modern vertical and oblique air photos, and maps depicting rates of shoreline change spaced every 20 meters on the sandy beaches of Maui, Oahu, and Kauai. 

Details

Hazards
Erosion and Shoreline Recession
Flooding – Coastal
Assets
Economy
Natural Areas and Wildlife
Property
Sources
University of Hawai'i at Manoa | Coastal Geology Group County of Kaua'i County of Maui City and County of Honolulu State of Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program Harold K.L. Castle Foundation USGS—United States Geological Survey USACE—U.S. Army Corps of Engineers NOAA—National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration State of Hawai'i | Office of Planning | State Coastal Zone Management Program
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Steps Addressed

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Related Case Studies & Action Plans

  • Sunset Beach is slammed by waves when high tide combined with high surf in the winter of 2013–2014. Photo courtesy of the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program (Hawai‘i Sea Grant).

    • Confronting Shoreline Erosion on O‘ahu
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