The well-known Kahana Sunset condominiums in Hawaii have lost their beach access due to erosion and rising sea level.
The resort has witnessed these natural phenomena over the past decades. The resort staff has spent the last few years trying to stop erosion and save the beach.
Some residents of the resort rental urge officials to stop attempting, as the damage is already done. Some residents say that it would be better to remove the rental property entirely for the sake of their health and safety.
This is a hard thing to hear, particularly since Kahana Sunset was established in 1971. When the property first opened, there were six buildings.
The building was constructed in the 1970s, 15 feet from the Maui coastline. Due to erosion and rising sea level, this distance has decreased dramatically. By 2014, it was only 8 feet.
Today, there is almost no shoreline left.
The condominiums still being standing is controversial, since the building is empty. Some experts claim that if they were not, there would have been a beach on the site where the condos now stand.
Kahana Sunset, however, is not the only place being devastated by natural disasters.
Several beaches have suffered similar damage in Massachusetts. Climate experts also predict that California may lose as much as 70 percent of its beaches before the end of this century.
Kahana Sunrise condominiums advocates in Hawaii aren’t giving up.
The building has been approved for renovations. This is assuming that the owners will move or destroy the structure in the future. Stay tuned to find out what happens to the condos on Maui’s beachfront.
