NEWBURY (CBS) – A state of emergency has been declared in the town of Newbury for homes on Plum Island.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Carl Stevens reports

Residents say their beachfront homes are on the verge of falling into the Atlantic Ocean because the water is relentlessly eroding the sand dunes that protect them.

They hope the state of emergency declaration will open the door for beach scraping, which would bring in more sand before the next storm hits.

Up to ten feet of beach was washed away in a Nor’easter last month.

Thomas Nee has had his home on the Plum Island waterfront for nearly 30 years.

He’s afraid he’ll lose it in the next storm.

“I don’t have pilings. I built this before pilings, so what happens is it comes underneath and undermines your foundation and it cracks,” he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Friday.