A POPULAR swimming spot on Sydney’s Northern Beaches has closed, with the local council advising visitors to head elsewhere.
A TOURIST hotspot has warned swimmers to head elsewhere for a dip — “because we’ve run out of beach!”
Northern Beaches Council posted a photo of Friday’s extremely high tide on Facebook with the caption: “Dee Why Beach is closed… because we’ve run out of beach!
“We recommend heading to Collaroy, Long Reef or Freshwater if you’re keen for a Friday arvo dip, we’re expecting a king tide in the next hour.”
The term refers to especially high spring tides that occur only a few times a year.
But some Facebook users suggested a more sinister explanation for the lack of sand at the popular location.
“Even when there isn’t a king tide there isn’t much beach,” wrote Melissa Molenaar. “This is what happens when climate change meets no beach maintenance.”
Nathan Close agreed. “Climate change isn’t real right?”
Dee Why Beach is closed… because we've run out of beach!We recommend heading to Collaroy, Long Reef or Freshwater if you're keen for a Friday arvo dip, we're expecting a king tide in the next hour.
Posted by Northern Beaches Council on Thursday, 9 November 2017
Curtis Redden blamed the local authorities. “The council decided to dump concrete onto the sand and rock that was originally there and take half the shoreline away,” he wrote.
Tamarama and Maroubra Beaches in the eastern suburbs were also closed, with lifeguards at Maroubra warning there were “still some big sets coming through” after it repoened this afternoon.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned surf conditions in Sydney may be more powerful than they appear and are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing and swimming on Saturday.
There are concerns Australia could be set for more wild weather this summer, at the close of what is set to be one of the hottest years in recorded history.
The UN’s World Meteorological Organisation says 2017 is likely to be the hottest year on record except for two warmed by El Nino phenomena.
In June 2016, a monster king tide sent six homes in Sydney’s Collaroy crumbling into the sea, as a fatal storm lashed New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
Residents were forced to evacuate their homes as the coastline was pummelled by a seven-metre swell.
Collaroy Beach was eroded by about 40 metres, with the usually generous stretch of sand replaced by a churning tide lapping against cliffs. The front yards of multimillion-dollar beachfront homes were swept away, with the houses left on the brink of collapse.
Around 700 people were evacuated at Narrabeen, another badly affected area on Sydney’s northern beaches.
Coogee Beach Surf Club in Sydney’s eastern suburbs was smashed open, while the beach walk winding past Waverley Cemetery towards Bondi also caved in — and remains shut off now.
The deadly storm, brought on by a powerful east coast low-pressure system making its way down the coast, caused three deaths.
More than $30 million worth of insurance claims were made.
Online Source News.com.au.
