Wachapreague, VA Coastal Erosion Rate
Shoreline change 4 miles east of Wachapreague, VA
USGS's shoreline-change data puts this stretch, 4 miles east of Wachapreague, VA, at 4.24 feet of erosion a year on average, a long-term rate for this specific ~3.5-mile section, not one storm's damage. At that rate, the shoreline has lost roughly 42.4 feet over the last decade.
What "Wachapreague" means on this page
USGS surveys the coast in transects spaced a few hundred feet apart; this page groups the nearest ones into a single ~3.5-mile reading for the stretch closest to Wachapreague, VA, rather than showing one arbitrary line. Segment center: 37.60, -75.62. The survey behind it runs to 2007-2009, in USGS's New England / Mid-Atlantic assessment, using the LRR method. Shoreline surveys aren't repeated every year, so this is the most recent long-term measurement USGS has published for this coast, not a live reading.
What 4.24 ft/yr means over time
Run 4 miles east of Wachapreague, VA's 4.24 ft/yr rate forward 25 years and it implies about 106 feet of further retreat, assuming nothing changes, which is exactly the assumption a seawall or nourishment project exists to break.
How solid is this number
This reading comes from 73 individual transects averaged together, 95% of which measured erosion rather than growth. The published margin on this reading runs ±0.87 ft/yr. Sorted from fastest erosion to fastest growth across all 1211 measured segments nationally, this one lands at 68. Source: USGS Open-File Report 2010-1119. Rank 217 nationally for erosion belongs to North Eastham, MA, 422 miles from this stretch, measured at 0.83 ft/yr, 0.2x this stretch's rate. 2.8 miles away, Wachapreague, VA is the nearest other measured stretch: also no significant trend.
Not this whole stretch, just Wachapreague itself: the Coastal Change Hazards Portal is USGS's own live version of this data.