A $500,000 sand dune collapsed in days after being erected, and residents are looking for help to protect their homes

A $500,000 sand dune collapsed in days after being erected, and residents are looking for help to protect their homes

On the border with New Hampshire and Massachusetts – about 35 miles north of Boston – is Salisbury, a coastal town and popular summer destination for tourists. But for those who live in the town year round, especially those who live on the coastline, life’s not a beach.

Last month, after a series of storms battered the area, local citizens came together to take the necessary steps to protect their homes. Volunteer organization Salisbury Beach Citizens for Change raised more than $500,000 to erect a 15,000-ton sand dune – a formidable barrier that would hopefully protect at least 15 beach houses from destruction.

Or so they thought. The sand dune was completed after one month in early March, but just three days later, the dune – and nearly half a million dollars – was wiped away.

The tragic incident made the project a laughingstock to some and angered others.

    • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
      54·
      8 months ago

      The nerve that some asshole thinks they are entitled to hundreds of thousands to millions of taxpayer money to protect their wealthy property while the average american can barely afford a run down home or rent.

      • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        17·
        8 months ago

        They already made it clear they’re not interested in spending their own money. That nearly $600k sounds like a lot, but when you look into it, that cost was spread between numerous homes on the beach there. I was purusing the Beach Associations Facebook page trying to find details, and failed, but looking at the coastline and the number of houses on it, I’d wager it was meant to protect at least twenty homes, if not plenty more. These are multi-million dollar homes, and if it was only 20 homes involved, that’s about $30k each, which suddenly feels much more affordable to rich fucking twats.

        So a group of rich twats bundled together to barely scrape together just over half a million, because all of them are too fucking cheap to pay what it would actually cost to solve this problem, and further, don’t think it’s actually a problem except to them and their homes.

        What a bunch of cheap idiot fucking tools. Rich people are always so fucking cheap.

        • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
          14·
          8 months ago

          The problem is that the way to actually solve this problem is to move. Building a seawall would be environmentally harmful and would only delay the damage by years or decades.