Example Breakwater or Berms:

 

* Picture album of berms in Louisiana and Mississippi

 

- Problems with traditional fixes

   (problems with traditional fixes are that they too need surge protection - this is where multiple lines of defense are important)

 

- An example of failure - a 12 minute video   

... note the above video is 120mb and 12 minutes long; give it some time to download.  The video is astounding and will bring tears.