City officials removed the remains of a concrete pillar from a lifeguard tower on Waikiki’s Queens Beach this morning. It has been about three and a half years since the damage caused by the waves.
Officials say this is all part of adapting to changing coastlines and the effects of climate change, with more than 70% of Hawaii’s beaches eroded and an estimated 8.5 miles of Oahu beach already lost. It is estimated that there are.
In August 2020, officials announced that the top of the second floor of the lifeguard tower was removed due to structural damage caused by a large south swell. A temporary tower was immediately installed on the mauka side of the then shoreline trail to continue providing lifeguard service.
A permanent tower will be installed near the temporary tower once a replacement structure arrives, officials said.
Other lifeguard tower locations removed due to erosion include Kailua, Ehukai, and Sunset Beach on Oahu’s North Shore. At several spots on the North Shore, retrieves were briefly held due to surf and then returned.
Honolulu Ocean Safety also removed concrete pillars at several other locations in Waikiki.
“About 20 years ago, we re-evaluated the tower and its placement on concrete columns to allow for more maneuverability along the shoreline and to ensure that newly installed towers could move,” said Captain Adam Lerner of Honolulu. I’m glad it happened,” he said. Ocean Safety’s operations supervisor on Oahu’s South Shore said in a statement. “Increased flexibility gives us the best opportunity to preserve our facilities during natural disasters and positions us to ensure public safety during the effects of large swells, tsunamis, and hurricanes.”
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