Rising sea levels threatening historic lighthouses

MAURICE RIVER TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Lighthouses around the U.S. and the world are being threatened by rising seas and erosion, requiring costly protective measures that not every place can afford.

One is at the southern tip of New Jersey, where the East Point Lighthouse is in danger of being swallowed by the Delaware Bay.

New Jersey officials want to help but caution it could cost millions to save the lighthouse. Similar calculations are being made regarding threatened lighthouses in many places.

Lighthouses have been moved inland in North Carolina, Rhode Island, Florida and other places.

But rising seas have also claimed lighthouses in Texas, Hawaii and Belize, among other places.

Even shoring up the sand in front of lighthouses can cost millions — and it often washes away with the tides or storms.

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