Moment two-storey house in Argentina collapses into the ocean after rising tides batter and erode its foundations
A house teetering on the edge of a crumbling cliff plunged into the sea in Argentina after its foundations were left weakened by rising sea levels.
Footage captured in Mar Del Tuyu, Buenos Aires, shows the house collapse into the South Atlantic Ocean as the ferocious waves batter its foundations on July 28.
The owners of the two-storey property were not at home when the incident took place, according to reports.
The two-storey house plunges into the sea in Mar Del Tuyu, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 28
The property teeters on the edge of the crumbling cliff as waves crash against it and begin to weaken its foundation
During the clip, which was captured by a neighbour, waves crash against the property as it sits perilously close to the cliff edge.
The building begins to lean towards the sea and cracks as the water weakens its foundations.
Just moments later, the house breaks away from the adjoining garage before quickly falling off the cliff and plunging into the dangerous waves below.
The house in Mar Del Tuyu, Buenos Aires, begins to lean towards the sea and breaks away from the garage
It quickly falls falls the dangerous waves below as terrified neighbours watch the scenes unfold
What is coastal erosion? How tides and geology mean some areas are far more at risk of being washed away
The occurrence of coastal erosion is dependent upon the balance between the resistance, or erodibility, of the coastline and the strength, or erosivity, of the waves and tides affecting the area.
These conditions are, in turn, reliant upon a number of factors, including topography, the composition and structure of the geological formations exposed at the coast, the state of man-made coastal defences, local currents and tidal range, wave climate (as characterised by wave height, period, direction and fetch), groundwater, sediment supply, and relative sea level.
Consequently, rates of coastal erosion and accretion are very variable at regional, national and international scales.
Coastal erosion typically results in a landward retreat of the coastline. This can increase the risk of coastal flooding and result in loss of land and damage to buildings, infrastructure and agricultural land.
Sudden coastal erosion events, particularly those in the vicinity of coastal cliffs, may directly endanger the lives of people. The movement of salt-water into freshwater areas (saline intrusion) can occur during coastal flooding and can impact upon the biodiversity of previously freshwater or terrestrial ecosystems.
It has been estimated that across England and Wales 113,000 residential properties, 9,000 commercial properties and 5,000 hectares of agricultural land are within areas potentially at risk of coastal erosion, which translate to a capital value of assets at risk of approximately £7.7billion for England and Wales (DEFRA, 2001).