Fatal Cliff Collapse At Southern California Beach Hints At What's To Come

NPR

Published August 7, 2019 at 11:33 AM CDT

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Lifeguards and search and rescue personnel work at the site of a cliff collapse at a popular beach on Aug. 2, 2019, in Encinitas, California. (Denis Poroy/AP)

Three members of a family were killed on a beach in Encinitas, California, this month. A slab of sandstone broke free from a cliff and crushed them.

The state has long dealt with beach erosion and coastal landslides, but climate change could make the problem much worse in the years ahead.

Here & Now‘s Robin Young speaks with Patrick Barnard, a U.S. geological survey researcher who warns that rising sea levels could erode Southern California coasts by 130 feet or more before the end of the century.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.