The damage sustained to Vancouver’s scenic seawall during a storm last week could be a sign of things to come as sea levels continue to rise due to climate change.
On January 7, high tides and extreme wind pummeled British Columbia’s South Coast, resulting in damage not only to Vancouver’s seawall but causing damage in other coastal communities such as West Vancouver and Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island as well.
The damage incurred from the storm transformed sections of the Stanley Park seawall into rubble – with upturned and broken chunks of concrete and debris. The damage was so bad that sections from Sunset Beach to the area around the Lions Gate Bridge remain closed.
Piles of debris, including large logs, also litter sections of the popular seaside walking and cycling path, according to CTV News Canada.
Ian Stewart, manager for park development, said in a recorded statement posted on Twitter that many sections of that stretch are still undermined and could collapse.
“It looks safe — it’s not,” he said. “We know how much our residents and park users love our beaches and our seawall. The biggest thing you can do right now is to stay away and let the crews do their job.”
Vulnerability of coastal infrastructure
Climate scientists say seaside cities like Vancouver are increasingly vulnerable as climate change causes ocean levels to rise.
“Our coastal infrastructure is designed assuming that the sea is stable,” Simon Fraser University earth sciences professor John Clague told CTV National News. “When you begin to elevate that surface, it begins to cause problems.”
Clague, an expert in geological hazards like tsunamis, earthquakes, and floods, says that while Vancouver has occasionally seen high water extremes in the past, the city can expect them to become more frequent and damaging in the future.
“As the climate warms, those water levels are going to rise, and they’re going to impact that coastal infrastructure,” he explained. Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of kilometers of coastline could be affected.
Further reading: Ocean temperatures in 2021 were the highest ever recorded
According to a report commissioned by the B.C. government, sea levels in parts of the province could increase by half a meter by 2050. While there are varying estimates as to how fast sea levels will rise, it is widely seen as inevitable, and coastal cities like Vancouver are being urged to prepare for potential impacts.
“It should be a bit of a wake-up call to people that this is kind of the new normal,” Clague said of the damage left by last week’s storm in B.C.
The Vancouver Park Board estimates it will still be weeks before the seawall is repaired and fully reopened to visitors.
