Large chunk of beach gets eaten up by the ocean in 'nearshore landslip' event
A large chunk of an Australian beach has fallen into the ocean, in another incident of its kind in recent years.
On Monday morning, approximately 200 to 300 metres (218 to 328 yards) of beach at south-east Queensland's Inskip Point eroded into the ocean, leaving a gap in the coast which reaches to the tree line.
Rainbow Beach Helicopters posted aerial images and video of the erosion on Facebook.
A Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service spokesperson said it was likely the erosion was caused "by the undermining of part of the shoreline by tidal flow, waves and currents."
"When this occurs below the waterline, the shoreline loses support and a section slides seaward leaving a hole, the edges of which retrogress back towards the shore," the statement added.
"In technical terms, such an event is better called a 'nearshore landslip' than a 'sinkhole.'"
Back in late-2015, another erosion event in the same area swallowed vehicles and tents in a campsite, leading to an evacuation of the site. Further erosion occurred a few months later in 2016, but didn't affect the campsite.
No members of the public have been injured, or have had property or campsites affected by the most recent event.
University of the Sunshine Coast associate lecturer in Earth Sciences, Peter Davies, told ABC News the event will "almost certainly happen again."
"We could see another one in 12 months, or we could see one in a few years," he told the news outlet.
"All we can say with any certainty is that it's an inherent unstable area and will do this periodically."
