Erosion prompts Imperial House evacuation

Beachfront living wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be, as residents of the Imperial House co-operative in Palm Beach learned Monday after being evacuated as pounding ocean surf threatened to undermine the building’s foundation. Heavy surf scoured sand from around 6,000-pound blocks dropped in front of the building in 2007 after a retaining wall collapsed. There is now crack between the 50-year-old building and a sidewalk that once provided beach access. Four decades ago, there was 200 to 300 feet of beach in front of the Imperial House, resident Bonnie Fischer said. [Palm Beach Daily News]