HONOLULU, Hawaii (The Adobo Chronicles) – The world-famous Waikiki Beach, known for its blue water and immaculate white sand, is slowly disappearing, according to a recent report in The Huffington Post: 

“A crumbling, century-old stone wall that juts out from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel is in imminent danger of collapsing, say scientists. The groin is the sole reason sand remains along this main stretch of Waikiki Beach.

Without it, the beach in front of the Royal Hawaiian would likely disappear in a matter of days, said Dolan Eversole, a scientist with the University of Hawaii’s Sea Grant program. It would take several months to a year for the rest of the stretch of sand to erode.”

In an effort to save Waikiki’s billion-dollar tourist industry from also collapsing, the Honolulu City Council is considering several measures to repair the crumbling sea walls in order to prevent the white sand from being washed away to the ocean.

At the same time, Honolulu City Mayor Kirk Caldwell today announced that the city will be importing 27,000 cubic yards of white sand from the Philippines  to replenish what has been lost along the stretch of Waikiki Beach.

The Philippines is known for its white sandy beaches in many of its more than 7,000 islands. International tourists have been visiting beach resorts in the Visayas, Palawan and the Ilocos region in the Philippines mainly for the pristine waters and pearly white sand.

Philippine President NoyNoy Aquino welcomed the news from Hawaii and used the sand export deal to again boast of his administration’s many successes in jumpstarting the country’s economy. “We can use the revenue from the sand export to build more high-rise condominiums in Metro Manila,” Aquino said.