Why are reefs important to the shoreline?

The coral reef structure buffers shorelines against waves, storms, and floods, helping to prevent loss of life, property damage, and erosion. When reefs are damaged or destroyed, the absence of this natural barrier can increase the damage to coastal communities from normal wave action and violent storms.

hope this helps ^ ^

a "theory" a suggestion that is not 100 % accurate, or a figure. some people say its a theory because they of all the passed theory's about one subject. it depends sometimes theory might be accurate and sometimes they are.