- Happisburgh, located in England’s Norfolk county, has been crumbling into the sea.
- Coastal erosion has plagued the village for decades, and could be worsened by increasing storms.
- Million-year-old human footprints were once discovered in the historic village, but they washed away.
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A small English village on the North Sea coast with thousands of years of history has been crumbling into the sea due to decades of coastal erosion.
Happisburgh, located in Norfolk County, has seen dozens of homes wash away to sea as the cliff face edges closer and closer to its remaining residents.
Photos show how the sea could soon swallow more of the historic town if the coastal erosion continues.
Happisburgh, pronounced “haze-bruh,” is home to about 1,400 people and about 600 homes.
Source: British Geological Survey
Though Happisburgh is currently a seaside town, it was previously further from shore. Records suggest more than 820 feet of land was swept away between 1600 to 1850.
Source: British Geological Survey
An increase in storms that are linked to climate change may be exacerbating the erosion of the sandy shoreline. Storm surges cause raised water levels that batter the shore, causing more erosion.
Source: BBC
Bryony Nierop-Reading, 77, refused an offer of about $65,800 in 2013 to evacuate her home before it ultimately fell into the sea in 2013 during a storm.
Source: BBC
One Happisburgh resident told the BBC when she purchased her home 18 years ago, it was in the middle of a street. Now, her house is the last one before the cliff’s edge.
Source: BBC
Many others in Happisburgh have already been forced to evacuate, with 34 homes getting swallowed by the sea over the past 20 years.
Source: BBC
“It’s changed unbelievably. You just don’t recognize the place,” a Happisburgh resident told Bloomberg. “Houses, friends that have lived in those houses, have all gone. It’s all gone.'”
Source: Bloomberg
Along with homes, the situation in Happisburgh is also washing away history, which has contributed to the village being a tourist attraction.
Happisburgh is also home to St. Mary’s, a still-standing 14th-century church.
The red-and-white-striped Happisburgh Lighthouse, built in 1790, is the only independently run lighthouse in Great Britain.
Source: Happisburgh Village
Coastal defenses were put in place decades ago to help avoid coastal erosion, but those have been weakened over the years by the sea.
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