FAMILY FORCED TO RUN FROM AMITY BEACH COLLAPSE
A family enjoying a ‘beach walk’ at Amity Point, were forced to run for their lives when they suddenly felt the ground shift beneath them.
And shift it definitely did!
An erosion event, known as a ‘flow slide’ brought about the collapse of part of the beach and a break in the rock wall at Toompany.
Jason Pearce and his two young daughters literally ran for their lives when the collapse started on Saturday 18th of November.
“It was a shock. You don’t expect the ground to move right from under you when you are going for a stroll along a beach,” he said.
According to Redland City Council, during September and November 2017, two flow-slide erosion events occurred at Amity Point, resulting in significant foreshore erosion.
“On 18 November 2017 a flow-slide event occurred on an area at Amity Point. The area is accessible through Council land which is used as a track to the beach and for informal parking.
“The incident occurred at the Amity Point end of Flinders Beach near Toompany Street affecting approximately 30 metres of foreshore in length and causing up to 3 metre high banks at points. Three to four metres of land fell into the sea, including some trees.
“Council is supervising emergency work to try to slow or halt another incidence of foreshore erosion at the site.
“Council and Coastal engineers have been assessing the site, which is known for natural erosion. Council is ensuring the construction of a hard-rock flow-slide barrier at the site.
The site remains fenced off and closed to the public.”
An earlier flow-slide event occurred at approximately the same site on 3 September 2017, coinciding with a high tide.
This event resulted in significant foreshore erosion and led to the construction of a flow-slide rock barrier.
The phenomenon is not new, with another stretch of Queensland affected by a similar event a couple of years ago.
In November 2015 a section of a beach the size of a football field was suddenly broken off due to a “flow slide”.
The collapse was believed to have been caused by a slide triggered by erosion due to strong tides. The event left a hole about 330 feet long and 330 feet wide.
At about the same time in 2015 a vast flow slide and hole occurred at a camping site on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, swallowing a car, caravan and a camper trailer.
A University of Queensland researcher has explained that flow slides are caused when a densely-packed, sloping stretch of sand begins to erode and then collapses.
If in open beach areas, they refill naturally, thanks to tidal and wave movement.
The Toompany event will require some engineering repairs, particularly to the rock wall.
CAPTION
• Pictures of the Amity ‘flow slide event’ provided by Angel Black