Coasts serve up some of the world’s most breathtaking scenery – wild waves, craggy shores and beautiful beaches with gleaming sand. But many of these incredible places are disappearing before our very eyes. Coastal erosion is eating away at shores all over the world, forcing residents and wildlife to flee and putting lives at risk. Erosion is a natural process, but climate change, rising sea levels and worsening storms are accelerating the damage.

Read on to see dramatic before-and-after images of what the world has already lost to coastal erosion...

The charming town of Sidmouth, pictured here around 1896, is tucked between the sea and the fossil-rich cliffs of South Devon on the spectacular Jurassic Coast. It has a long and colourful history, and the town was even mentioned in the Domesday Book way back in 1086 under its original name Sedemuda, meaning 'Mouth of the Sid' – a nod to the river that runs through the town.

But Sidmouth’s exposed position – paired with natural processes like landslides and human activities – has led to severe coastal erosion, particularly since the 19th century. In 1928 a storm removed much of Pennington Point, while many rockfalls followed in the early 1930s.

Significant rockfall in 2024 left houses again teetering on the edge of the cliffs. Authorities are clear that the cliffs will continue to retreat inland and that cliff falls may become more common as climate change accelerates the rate of erosion.

The Maldives, pictured here in 1990, are known for their sugar-soft sand, turquoise waters and marine life. But this tropical paradise, an archipelago set in the Indian Ocean, is slowly disappearing. Around 90% of the islands in the Maldives have experienced severe erosion, while 47% are located within 328 feet (100m) of the shoreline. In 1968, the island of Giraavaru was evacuated due to heavy erosion.

This image shows the same beach with clear signs of erosion just five years later. Coastal development is a main cause, as the construction of new harbours and resorts can dramatically change how sand moves along the shore.

Rising sea levels due to climate change is also playing a part for the low-lying islands, along with extreme weather events like storms and coastal flooding. Seawalls have been built in a bid to combat the erosion, including in the capital city Male, which is now surrounded by a seawall.

It’s hard to believe it now, but Miami Beach in Florida was once a mangrove swamp. It was developed by entrepreneurs like the Lummus Brothers and Carl Fisher and incorporated as a city in 1917 (this picture dates back to the 1900s or 1910s, when development was ongoing). By the 1920s, Miami Beach was an established resort community – which would soon become one of the world’s most famous tourist destinations.

However, by the 1950s severe erosion was setting in, much of it caused by intensive human development and rising sea levels. Many of South Florida's famous beaches lose vast volumes of sand each year, and a long series of 'beach renourishment' projects have aimed to put that right. The latest has restored miles of shoreline by replenishing the beaches with sand – to the tune of £31.2 million ($40.4m).

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With the jagged Diamond Head in the background, the golden crescent of Waikiki Beach (pictured here in the 1920s) on Hawaii’s Oahu island has been impressing visitors since the first days of tourism. In the 1800s, Hawaiian royalty used this beach as a surf spot, with the first hotels being built along the shoreline from 1901. But this slice of island paradise is fighting a longstanding battle against erosion – a problem that climate change has worsened in recent years.

Before 1950 the beaches of Waikiki, pictured here in 2024, were all connected – but they have since been separated into eight distinct beaches due to various factors including dredging and the installation of groynes. Sand – shipped in large part from California – was added but much of that is now gone, with rising sea levels exacerbating the situation. Plans are afoot to replenish the beaches once again, and perhaps install extra groynes.

Located in Moray, on Scotland’s northeast coast, Findhorn was once a thriving fishing port with a flourishing shipbuilding industry and trade links to Scandinavia and beyond. As well as the quaint harbour, the village has a beach, a watersports centre and a small heritage centre. The idyllic setting makes Findhorn, pictured here in 2016, an ideal destination for lovers of the great outdoors – from sailing to wildlife-watching.

Yet its coastal location also makes Findhorn Bay ripe for erosion, and in 2024 storms damaged a stretch of the main road that runs into the village, requiring heavy reinforcement (pictured). Other causes include shifting sand on the peninsula and dunes collapsing – compounded by mountain bikers and walkers. A plan is being developed to combat the erosion, with sandbags and stone being laid down in the worst affected areas in the interim.

Perched on Germany's Baltic coast, Brodten is an idyllic village in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. Its countryside is scattered with farms and waterfront views, attracting walkers and cyclists keen to get active besides postcard panoramas of the sea. Yet the sea may also be causing Brodten's demise – with waves breaking off more and more pieces of the towering cliffs that characterise the shrinking stretch of coast.

In fact, part of the coastal hiking trail broke away in 2022 (pictured). Later, in 2024, large chunks of the cliff at Brodten tumbled into the sea following sustained rain and frost. The collapses threaten the habitat of the native sand martin, as well as the future of buildings located near the edge. It’s believed that over three feet (1m) of rock is lost from the cliffs each year, and hiking trails often need to be diverted.

A clifftop mansion in a wealthy coastal city like Dana Point, in southern California, is the stuff of dreams for many. Property here is some of the state’s most expensive – and for good reason, with epic views of the Pacific Ocean and close proximity to golden beaches. But this rugged coastline, pictured here in 2018, is also severely endangered, with heavy storms leaving luxury homes teetering on the edge.

In 2024, the governor of California declared a state of emergency in eight counties thanks to a series of winter storms, with flash-flood warnings issued. Multimillion-dollar houses on cliffs in Dana Point, like the one pictured here, dangled precariously above landslides brought on by the heavy rainfall. Stronger storms, higher seas and landslides, exacerbated by the climate crisis, are turbocharging erosion, and estimates suggest that £116 billion ($150bn) of California property might be affected by coastal flooding and erosion by 2100.

Located on Spain’s sunny south coast, the resort town of Nerja has been attracting holidaymakers for years. Tourists flock to this slice of the Costa del Sol, pictured here in 2001, for its powdery beaches that stretch for almost 10 miles (16km) and host activities like water skiing and scuba diving. Just a 40-minute hop from Malaga, it’s also packed with history, with traditional white villages and ancient caves dotting the seafront.

But sadly, beaches like Nerja (pictured here in 2024) are eroding due to weather and tides. In fact, up to 16 feet (5m) of beach are disappearing from parts of the Costa del Sol every year, with construction and climate change taking much of the blame.

Since around 40% of Spain’s population lives along the coast, erosion along the seafront is a major problem. Protective barriers and seawalls are being built, along with the replenishment of sand at problem spots, in an effort to combat it.

In the 1980s, El Bosque was a thriving fishing village on the coast of the Mexican state of Tabasco. Locals turned to the Gulf of Mexico to earn a living, trawling its waters for fish to sell, but the sea that gave residents their livelihoods has now also decimated El Bosque and swept away many of its homes. In 2021, more than 700 people called the small village home; now, barely a handful remain.

Scientists say that sea levels in the Gulf of Mexico are rising at a staggering rate – three times faster than the global average. Compounding the issue are increasingly vicious winter storms known as 'nortes', which leave piles of rubble and twisted metal where houses once stood. Vast swathes of El Bosque have been lost to the ocean in just a few short years, and by 2023 the large majority of its residents had gone.

The picturesque village of Nefyn on the Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales is known for its long sandy beach backed by striking cliffs. During the 18th and 19th centuries it was a centre for herring fishing, but after World War II it transformed into a popular seaside holiday destination. These days, Nefyn – pictured here in 2003 – sits perched on the cliff edge with unobstructed views over the Irish Sea.

But, though the cliffs may be beautiful, they aren’t stable. The weak coastal deposits here are susceptible to landsliding after heavy rain, and have been for years. Persistent rainfall in early 2001 led to landslides that swept two cars over the cliff, killing one person, while another large landslip in April 2021 (pictured) saw a number of residents have to abandon their homes.

Then and now: shocking before and after photos of coastal erosion in the UK

The relentlessness of the North Sea signed the death warrant of the historic Orfordness Lighthouse in Suffolk, England. The classic red and white lighthouse was built in 1792 and decommissioned in 2013. In 2005 it lay 65 feet (20m) from the shoreline, but by 2015 just 32 feet (10m) separated it from the sea and in 2019 a storm destroyed its engineer's bunkhouse, prompting authorities to take the decision to demolish the Grade II-listed building.

After two centuries of keeping the Suffolk coast safe, the Orfordness Lighthouse was finally torn down in August 2020. Proprietors tried to protect the building from the waves with large 'sausages' – lines of sacks filled with shingle and rubble – but without success. A number of artefacts from the lighthouse were removed before the demolition, including the lantern room, the cabinets used to hold lighthouse bulbs and the large stone above the door.

Around an hour’s drive north of Cape Town, the small coastal settlement of Yzerfontein sits in a landscape that’s carpeted with wildflowers in spring, with chalk-white dunes that lead down to the shore. The town – whose name means 'Iron Fountain' – is famous for Sixteen Mile Beach (pictured in 2006), which, true to its name, is the longest uninterrupted beach in South Africa.

But it's width, not length, that is now the beach's main concern, and it is on average 170 feet (52m) narrower than it was in aerial photographs in 1937. Researchers predict that, by 2040, the sea will be lapping the foot of the dunes that separate the beach from Langebaan lagoon. Erosion at Yzerfontein (pictured here in 2020) is part of a severe uptick in coastal erosion on the shores north of Cape Town in the last few years.

Happisburgh, a pretty village on the north Norfolk coast (pictured in 2003), has had a problem with erosion for centuries. It’s built on soft sandy rock, which helps explain why it lost around 820 feet (250m) of land to the ocean between 1600 and 1850.

Climate change and intense storms have seen the erosion accelerate to 9.8 feet (3m) a year. The village has more properties at risk from coastal erosion than anywhere else in England with more than 34 houses lost in the last 20-or-so years, and many more likely doomed.

It is feared that the old village of Happisburgh (pronounced Hays-bruh) could completely vanish within the next 80 years. Its famous red and white lighthouse – the oldest working light in East Anglia – is squarely in the firing line, with the crumbling cliff face creeping closer every year. Experts predict that it may suffer the same fate as Happisburgh’s Low Lighthouse, which was lost to erosion in 1883.

With soft sand and warm, blue water, Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An is a tropical paradise. But some of Vietnam’s shores, including Hoi An's beaches on the country's central coast, are under serious threat. Cua Dai (pictured in 2014) may be a good place to unwind after wandering Hoi An’s canals and temples, but it's been quietly fighting a war against erosion for several years now.

Rising sea levels, rapid coastal development and poor management of a nearby river system are the main culprits for Hoi An's woes. Some resorts at Cua Dai were deemed unsafe after waves destroyed parts of buildings in 2016 (pictured), but the beach is set to bounce back. In 2023, a £32 million ($42m) project to build dikes and embankments between the beach and the river estuary was green-lit by authorities.

Rising out of the sea beside the Great Ocean Road in the Australian state of Victoria, the Twelve Apostles are evidence of coastal erosion in action. The limestone stacks were formed by wind, rain and sea, which weathered and corroded the soft limestone cliffs over 10 to 20 million years, creating towering rock formations (pictured here in 1960). 

Sadly, these structures remain vulnerable to further erosion as they're battered by the waves. There are fewer apostles than there once were: when the stacks were named over a century ago there were nine, but one collapsed in 2005 and another followed in 2009. The formation of new stacks and the eventual erosion of the remaining ones (pictured here in 2025) is inevitable in time.

One of the world’s premier erosion hotspots lies along the California shoreline. According to the US Geological Survey, California could lose three-quarters of its beaches by 2100, and although this stretch of coast has been eroding since the last Ice Age, the process looks set to accelerate in the coming years. The city of Pacifica near San Francisco (pictured in 1998) is particularly susceptible.

Relentless storms caused by the El Niño weather pattern in 2015-16 battered the Pacifica coastline (pictured), leaving a number of houses and apartment buildings perched perilously close to the cliff edge.

Residents had to be evacuated, with some properties deemed uninhabitable. Many condemned buildings were demolished, though others are still at risk. One idea for preventing erosion is to create artificial reefs in the water that could help pacify the waves. 

On the west coast of France, Biarritz is a surfer’s paradise, with magnificent beaches and powerful waves. Before becoming a luxurious beach resort it was a cod fishing village, and in the 18th century wealthy aristocrats were attracted by the natural hot springs and sea baths.

But it was Napoleon III’s wife Eugénie who really put Biarritz on the tourist map, building a sumptuous summer residence here in the mid-19th century. Pictured here are the sea cliffs in Biarritz's Côte des Basques neighbourhood, around 1930.

This coastline is highly susceptible to erosion thanks to the Atlantic’s strong waves and the area’s soft sedimentary rocks. The city has taken steps to protect its coast from further erosion – for instance by building protective sea walls to help reduce damage from storm surges. Sand is also frequently replenished at popular beaches like Grande Plage and Plage de la Côte des Basques.

Stretching for 95 miles (153km) between Dorset and Devon, the Jurassic Coast is one of Britain’s best-known natural wonders. Its rugged cliffs hold 185 million years of Earth’s history, with famous rock formations like Old Harry Rocks and Durdle Door. The high cliffs of Burton Bradstock (pictured here in 2007) were also formed by erosion, which will continue to drastically reshape them in the coming years.

The erosion is so rapid that cliff falls and landslides are frequent at Burton Bradstock, posing a real danger to people on the cliffs above and on the sands below. This aerial photo shows the aftermath of a cliff fall in 2024, after which the public were advised not to walk close to the cliffs. Climate change is making this UNESCO-listed stretch of coast and its communities even more vulnerable to the pounding sea, with more frequent collapses and floods predicted.

Now see the extraordinary beaches that could disappear in our lifetimes