Salisbury Beach

Massachusetts beachgoers and environmental experts alike can tell something has changed at Salisbury Beach. Winter storms have eroded away coastal dunes, placing homes, highways and wetlands at risk. Environmental scientist Tom Hughes describes a shoreline in flux. “I see a beach that is relatively healthy, but absent dune volume and height,” said Hughes. “Dunes grow slowly, they erode quickly....

As thousands soaked up the sun and sand on Salisbury Beach Wednesday, the erosion of coastal dunes in the area remains a concern for lawmakers.

Heavy weather has pummeled the shoreline this winter stripping the scenic spot of its sandy beach and instead depositing it in people’s homes and businesses.

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Salisbury Beach residents spent hundreds of thousands to protect their waterfront properties, only to have their efforts washed away by a storm.

Salisbury Beach residents are calling on the state and federal government to address coastal erosion concerns after spending more than a half a million dollars to create a sacrificial dune that washed away just days later.   Residents of the northern Massachusetts beach community spent $600,000 of their own money to truck in 15,000 tons of sand for protective dunes…

Residents of Salisbury, Massachusetts, are calling for help to protect their beachfront homes. Coastal erosion has taken its toll on Salisbury Beach. Residents spent $600,000 out of pocket and trucked in 15,000 tons of sand for protective dunes last week, only for half of the sand to wash away in Sunday’s storm. A meeting was scheduled Wednesday afternoon. At the…

Homeowners spoke up at a community meeting about beach erosion concerns.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent in an effort to protect beachfront homes in Salisbury, Massachusetts, and it took just one storm to bring residents back to reality. Sunday’s storm, like so many before, proved costly on Salisbury Beach, but for a different reason. On Thursday, residents had just finished trucking in 15,000 tons of sand, paying the $600,000…

A sand dune project aiming to protect beachfront homes was destroyed in a single storm.

For those who live on a stretch of beachfront in Salisbury, Massachusetts, ocean views have taken on a whole different meaning. Storm after storm demolishing protective dunes has proven to residents that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. “All of our friends and neighbors, we are all scrambling for sand right now. Another storm…

Waves have pounded the coast in Salisbury, where beachfront property owners are concerned about what’s to come.

A Methuen family is devastated after a man drowned trying to save his son after they were caught in a riptide.

A man who was pulled from the water after being caught in a rip tide at Salisbury Beach has died.

A father from Methuen, Massachusetts, died Wednesday while trying to rescue one of his children from rough surf at the beach in Salisbury, officials said Thursday. The family was swimming at Salisbury Beach when heavy surf began to overwhelm one of the children. The victim, identified by the Essex County District Attorney’s office as 44-year-old Gary Simard, rushed into...

Five people were pulled from the water after rough and choppy surf began to overwhelm them.

Five people were rescued from the water at Salisbury Beach Wednesday.

A father and his children were pulled from the ocean in Salisbury, Massachusetts, on Wednesday afternoon. The family was swimming at Salisbury Beach when heavy surf began to overwhelm them. Two bystanders quickly jumped in the water to help them. “I’m like, ‘This can’t be happening. This is not a joke. The father went in,’” recalled Jason Evan Iarossi,...

Months after a winter storm battered Salisbury Beach, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation has announced it’s fully reopening — just in time for Fourth of July celebrations. In December 2022, a storm caused severe erosion of the beach and access points 8, 9, and 10, making it dangerous for residents and visitors alike. In response, state workers repaired…