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Beach Erosion Endangers Plum Island Home

PLUM ISLAND (CBS) -- High tide undermined the corner of a seaside summer home on Plum Island in Newburyport.  The owners said it happened around 3 or 3:30 a.m. Monday.  

Waves damaged a small deck but the owners hold onto optimism and place their faith in the stilts or pilings on which the oceanfront house is built.

WBZ-TV's Ron Sanders reports.

"When I bought the house 30 years ago, it was right on the beach and on stormy days, the water went underneath that," said Dr. Sadrun Hemani.

A number of Plum Island homeowners say the Army Corps of Engineers jetty at the mouth of the Merrimack River contributes to damaging wave action around their homes during storms. 

"When we were first here, we had a 100 feet of dune and as soon as the jetty was breached we started to lose 10 feet chunks at a time," explained Clare Dunphy.

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