The Safe, the Brave & the Stupid

Further illustration of the issue at Cua Dai Beach:

• Development of hotels at the southern end of Hoi An was undertaken after a rapid phase of accretion following migration of an ebb shoal island (outside the river mouth).

• Once the island had finished migrating, Cua Dai beach started to erode

• By 2014, the new hotels were starting to be "more than waterfront" properties.

• The response by the Vietnamese Government, understandably to support the significant tourist industry of Hoi An, has been a massive amount of sand renourishment and coastal engineering works.

• However, the greatest promise for coastal longevity is likely to be the development of a new ebb shoal and island...

Cyclic coastal behaviour is common.

Building coastal resilience in locations where long-term cycles occur can simply involve moving development outside the 'range' of the cycle. However, this is easier said than done, with almost 25% of coastal erosion hotspots identified in Western Australia being a result of building during a 'good phase' and stubbornly holding on through 'bad phases'.