A winter storm combined with a high tide and easterly winds caused extensive damage to the houses at Torcross and Beesands on 4 January 1979. Parts of the shingle beach and the sea wall were also washed away. Coastal erosion is not new to this part of Devon where in 1917 the entire village of (South) Hallsands was washed away except for one house, the ruins of which serve as a permanent reminder of where the old fishing village once stood.