East coast erosion: Some people will be advised to move
- Published
Some people "will be advised to move" due to coastal erosion, the chair of the Environment Agency, external said during a visit to the east coast.
Alan Lovell said the agency "hopes to be able to deal with" storm surges and floods coming in from the sea.
But he added there is "really nothing we can do" about coastal erosion.
He was speaking during a visit to the £67m Ipswich Tidal Barrier, which was opened in 2019 and is designed to keep homes safe during storm tidal surges.
Demolition began on four coastal properties in Pakefield, south of Lowestoft, in February, after they were deemed unsafe by East Suffolk Council.
Anna Jones was forced to have her cliff-top cottage in Easton Bavents, just north of Southwold, demolished after a storm in December left it 30ft (9m) from the edge.
Mr Lovell, who was confirmed as chair in July, external, described climate change as a "great risk facing us all".
As a result, flooding would become "more extreme and more frequent".
"We can do our best [to protect from flooding] and we have done a lot all the way up the east coast because of a clear risk of surges from the North Sea," he said.
"Coastal erosion is different because there's really nothing we can do about that and in the odd places then we will be having to advise people to move, but that shouldn't be the case with flood."
The Ipswich Tidal Barrier offers protection to 1,600 homes and 400 businesses.
It has a 200-tonne rotating barrier which can be raised in minutes, helping to keep the town safe from tidal surges during storms.
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