Inverloch locals rally for urgent erosion solution

ABC NEWS (Australia)

At Inverloch, in West Gippsland, hundreds of concerned locals have gathered to demand immediate action to save their beach from erosion. For a decade, the dunes at Inverloch have been creeping closer to the foundations of the town's surf-club.

Transcript

00:00It's a common sight to see people flocking to the beach at Inverloch on a hot day.

00:08But today, beachgoers had more than just a frolic in the waves on their mind.

00:15Hundreds of Inverloch residents calling for urgent action to save their beach and their

00:20community.

00:21It's been so disheartening when I lay in my bedroom at night hearing the waves crashing

00:27during a storm and realising that the beach is washing away.

00:33Since 2010, the sand dunes at Inverloch Surf Beach have receded by more than 33 metres,

00:40exposing the surf club, which now sits just metres from the beach, protected only by a

00:46temporary wall.

00:47It was pretty scary because the water's literally starting to come up behind the sandbags and

00:51that is like less than 10 metres from the foundations of the club.

00:56A draft plan from the state government includes a recommendation that people retreat from

01:01their beachside homes if water comes over the dunes.

01:05That sparked outrage in the coastal community.

01:07We've come to the stage now that enough's enough and we just have to do something.

01:13I'm hoping that something will be done before it's too late.

01:17The state government has tried a few things, including trucking in sand to replenish the

01:22sand dunes, and building this wall of massive sandbags as a temporary measure to protect

01:28the surf club.

01:29But locals are demanding a more long-term solution.

01:33It's a quick fix, it's a band-aid and that band-aid now needs to be removed and we need

01:38something more permanent.

01:39The sandbags were put in about four years ago, they've got a life generally thought

01:43to be about 10 years, where rocks are a permanent solution.

01:49The state government's final action plan is due to be released later this year.

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