Spread erosion on the Lake Michigan coastline puts houses in an unstable position

A drone operator occupied several homes on Lake Michigan on Wednesday, April 23, on the erosion coastline of Benton Harbor.

Nathan Voytovick of Nate’s book captures the footage showing erosion spreading towards the steep cliffs of Benton Harbor towards the house.

According to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (Egle), the Great Lakes coastline is “actively eroding the coast”, and some shorelines erode faster than others. These areas are called high-risk erosion zones (HREA).

“HREA erodes at an average annual or higher rate for at least 15 years,” Egle wrote. “Building a structure that is too close to the bluff gives it a risk of falling into the lake…localizing the structure safely from a cliff may also reduce the need for hard lines. Less hard coastline promotes natural coastlines for you, neighbors and wildlife.”

The houses seen in the video fall into the high-risk erosion category, according to the erosion map released by Egle. Credit: Nate’s trick through the story