Nov 26, 2008 5:34 pm US/Eastern
Plum Island Home Collapses Onto Beach
PLUM ISLAND (WBZ) ―
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The home collapsed onto the beach with the help of machinery late Wednesday afternoon.
WBZ
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Viewer Diane Smith sent us this photo she took of the home on Nov. 24
Diane Smith/WBZ
A home on Plum Island collapsed onto a beach late Wednesday afternoon with the help of demolition crews.
The house on Northern Boulevard was battered by wind-whipped tides during Tuesday's storm and was imminent danger of collapsing by itself.
Just after 4:30 p.m., an excavator nudged the house, knocking it over onto the beach below.
RACE AGAINST THE CLOCKNewbury's building inspector was on site all day Wednesday with a crew trying to stabilize the home before the next high tide around 11 p.m. Unable to stabilize the home, town officials determined it would be best to knock the structure down before high tide.
WOMAN LOSES LONG-TIME HOME
Geraldine Buzotta has lived in the home for the last 43 years. The 78 year old scrambled to get her personal items out before the house collapsed.
"I'm homeless. I have no home," Buzotta said. "Last night my grandson took me to my daughter's house. Today I don't know where I'm going."
Buzotta said her 27-year-old grandson heard cracking during Tuesday's storm and the two grabbed a few belongings and fled the home.
It was about 300 feet from the 5th Street restaurant in town.
OTHER HOMES AT RISKNewbury's assistant building inspector Doug Packer told WBZ five or six other homes in the neighborhood are also in some danger. The four houses south of Buzzota's home on Northern Boulevard have hanging structures such as decks that are in danger of collapsing.
"My boyfriend owns this house, Mark Farrell, and he's lived here for 11 years," said Ann Armour. "In the last two and a half years we've watched over 100 feet of this land leave."
An eight-to-nine foot surf usually comes into the area after storms, Packer said.
Erosion has been a concern along this stretch of the coast for years and this event may have been the final straw.
There has been a push to get sandbags in the areas of greatest concern.
WHAT'S BEING DONE?
Residents, including Buzzota, are upset that more has not been done to protect their homes.
"Am I bitter? Yeah, I'm bitter," Buzzota said. "I'm bitter at the town of Newbury. I've paid taxes."
There is an immediate effort to shore up the beach beneath the homes in peril with the hope of preventing the same fate as the Buzzota home.
Huge sandbags have been set up to hold back the wave action and keep the sand in place.
Ocean waves are constantly reshaping the coastline of the barrier beach, washing away sand but also replenishing it. However, that didn't happen Tuesday when huge waves slammed into the coastline, taking away much of the beach's sand.
There are a few remedies that have been proposed to help prevent erosion in the area. However, they each cost millions of dollars and will likely be only temporary solutions.
Several towns on the North Shore are planning a special meeting on the coastal erosion issue next month.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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