Homes feet from falling off eroding cliff along Lake Michigan
Experts say a combination of high water levels, powerful storms, seasonal ice damage, and human activity have accelerated the erosion.
Drone video shows how shoreline erosion is creeping toward homes along Lake Michigan in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Officials say parts of the shoreline are losing more than a foot every year.
Cliffs are crumbling along Lake Michigan — and in places like Benton Harbor, some homes are hanging on by a thread.
Drone footage captured by Nathan Voytovick of Nate’s Dronography on April 23 shows houses perched just feet from the edge of steep cliffs, with waves and wind slowly chewing away at the ground beneath them. In some spots, only a narrow strip of land separates backyards from a dangerous drop.
Parts of the Great Lakes coast have been losing a foot or more of shoreline each year for at least 15 years. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), has designated sections of the shoreline as “high risk erosion areas.”
Experts say a combination of high water levels, powerful storms, seasonal ice damage, and human activity have accelerated the erosion. While seawalls and other engineered defenses can offer temporary protection, state officials and environmental experts encourage moving homes farther back whenever possible to preserve the natural shoreline — and reduce the risk of catastrophic loss.
"Building a structure too close to the edge of the bluff puts it at risk of falling into the lake," EGLE advises. Locating structures safely back from the bluff may also reduce the need for a hardened shoreline. A less-hardened shoreline promotes natural shorelines for you, your neighbors, and wildlife."
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