Beach Erosion--Can it be fixed?

[JB]

Sorry for the confusion. I didn't make myself clear. We paid for and put up sand fencing in front of our home OURSELVES. We tried to put it back up again after Arlene and the county said NO, we had to wait until the Fall. Just wondering if they would lift that restriction.

I think it's going to be a different ballgame this time around. There will be more of a sense of urgency, and thus the effort to repair dunes/beaches will be more aggressive (and perhaps more radical). Of course, this is just speculation on my part, but I think I'm probably correct.

People's homes have to be protected. If the foundations of homes are hanging off sand cliffs, it will have too be fixed very quickly.

 

[Paula]

CNN had some still pictures of Seagrove this am showing the damage from the start of the storm until after, by some guy named Neill who rode it out, and it was pretty, pretty bad. Kurt has another one up in the damage section, too, near Seacrest.

From the pictures I have seen, sand fences wont be necessary--the dunes are vertical cliffs. Course, someone might want to go rock climbing...

Yup, that photo of the beach near Seacrest is very scary to look at. But I emailed a friend of mine and she said the beaches looked like that right after Ivan as well and the water receded within a day or two, leaving a beach (albeit a very messy beach with no walkover). I went back and looked at my photos I took of the beach a few days after Ivan, and then looked at photos I took in Feb 05 and the difference was amazing. In Feb, we had white fluffy sand again (still some black peat but didn't show up in the photos). The dunes were still a mess, but if you didn't look at the dunes, you wouldn't know there had been a hurricane. And if you did look at the dunes, you'd get a pretty good look at what hurricane can do. So, that's why I'm feeling pretty patient right now and not letting the photos scare me.

 

[southof30A]

Yup, that photo of the beach near Seacrest is very scary to look at. But I emailed a friend of mine and she said the beaches looked like that right after Ivan as well and the water receded within a day or two, leaving a beach (albeit a very messy beach with no walkover). I went back and looked at my photos I took of the beach a few days after Ivan, and then looked at photos I took in Feb 05 and the difference was amazing. In Feb, we had white fluffy sand again (still some black peat but didn't show up in the photos). The dunes were still a mess, but if you didn't look at the dunes, you wouldn't know there had been a hurricane. And if you did look at the dunes, you'd get a pretty good look at what hurricane can do. So, that's why I'm feeling pretty patient right now and not letting the photos scare me.

The MAJOR difference is that the cliff is now much farther landward than immediately after Ivan - even farther cut back than after Opal.

 

[Paula]

Sadly, I figured that was the case. I'll see it myself next week (I'm sure it won't be a pretty sight and I'm sure it will be strange to see the properties so close to the edge of the dune -- or even hanging over the dune in some cases).

As long as we have a beach, I'll be fine, regardless of what the dunes look like. It may take a long time for the dunes to come back, but barring more hurricanes (wishful thinking), they'll come back just as they did after Opal (the dunes looked great when we bought our place in April 2003).

 

[Travel2Much]

Yup, that photo of the beach near Seacrest is very scary to look at. But I emailed a friend of mine and she said the beaches looked like that right after Ivan as well and the water receded within a day or two, leaving a beach (albeit a very messy beach with no walkover). I went back and looked at my photos I took of the beach a few days after Ivan, and then looked at photos I took in Feb 05 and the difference was amazing. In Feb, we had white fluffy sand again (still some black peat but didn't show up in the photos). The dunes were still a mess, but if you didn't look at the dunes, you wouldn't know there had been a hurricane. And if you did look at the dunes, you'd get a pretty good look at what hurricane can do. So, that's why I'm feeling pretty patient right now and not letting the photos scare me.

That's what happened after Arlene, with the beach: the flat stuff. I was hopeful last week b/c Cindy really healed a lot. It was real amazing to see day by day.

What I am concerned about is the dunes. Ivan took a swipe. In some areas Arlene took another. Now Dennis, with the protection remaining after the project gone now.

I have always wanted to know why that brick house in Seacrest that someone reported is now 1/3 over the beach, wasn't required to be removed when it was a foot over the beach after Ivan? I have walked by there nearly every week.

 

[Paula]

That's what happened after Arlene, with the beach: the flat stuff. I was hopeful last week b/c Cindy really healed a lot. It was real amazing to see day by day.

What I am concerned about is the dunes. Ivan took a swipe. In some areas Arlene took another. Now Dennis, with the protection remaining after the project gone now.

I have always wanted to know why that brick house in Seacrest that someone reported is now 1/3 over the beach, wasn't required to be removed when it was a foot over the beach after Ivan? I have walked by there nearly every week.

As long as we have a beach (and I've heard we still have a beach), I'm pretty happy (well, maybe even ecstatic). Our beach was always a small one, but didn't matter because not many people use our beach so it never seems to get crowded anyway. (Frankly, I didn't know it was considered a small beach until someone told me it was because I'm not that familiar with beaches in general). The dunes, while not pretty now, are at least very interesting to look at. And I wouldn't walk too close to the dunes (or let my kids walk close to the dunes) for safety's sake if there are houses too close to the edge. That house your talking about will be viewed with great interest from a distance. I'm sure there's a reason it wasn't fixed earlier (these things can sometimes take time and I'm sure the person didn't expect another storm so soon), but I don't know what it is. In any case, we'll try to get to a beach to enjoy and we'll stay far from the dunes and any houses/properties near the dunes.

 

[CoffeeBoy]

As long as we have a beach, I'll be fine, regardless of what the dunes look like. It may take a long time for the dunes to come back, but barring more hurricanes (wishful thinking), they'll come back just as they did after Opal (the dunes looked great when we bought our place in April 2003).

My wife and I went down memory lane and at least in Blue Mountain Beach, looking back to 1989 or 90 there is no comparison. The dunes recovered to a degree from where they were post Opal but not near back to where they were prior.

Our "stairs" at Sea Cliffs used to have sections of angled flat walkway. It is now a shear cliff from the front row. Based on our old photos we guess we have seen 20 feet of grass (before you ever hit the dune) plus 30-40 feet of dune plus 30-40 feet of beach disappear. Places lost 3-4 feet of "land" simply from rainfall following Ivan over the last year.

It will recover some but it will now take massive man-power in my opinion. In fact, many of the cliffs will continue to erode at a fast clip just as they have done for the last 9 months without immediate reinforcement. I was very surprised at the lack of aggressive "force" to restore the beach after Ivan and at least at Blue Mountain, it will take immediate and significant action to save a significant number of homes. (By "save" I mean for the next 10 years).

Maybe there is simply not much that can be done but if that is the case I am thankful to be 60 yards back. Not trying to be a downer but looking back, the dune and gradual slopes of before have been taken by Opal, Ivan, and Dennis.

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

That's what happened after Arlene, with the beach: the flat stuff. I was hopeful last week b/c Cindy really healed a lot. It was real amazing to see day by day.

What I am concerned about is the dunes. Ivan took a swipe. In some areas Arlene took another. Now Dennis, with the protection remaining after the project gone now.

I have always wanted to know why that brick house in Seacrest that someone reported is now 1/3 over the beach, wasn't required to be removed when it was a foot over the beach after Ivan? I have walked by there nearly every week.

The owner of the house you are referring to lost his wife just before Ivan. As you can imagine, the whole situation with his house wasn't a priority.

The front of the house was ripped off and the house is now completely exposed. It is a total loss.

 

[Travel2Much]

The owner of the house you are referring to lost his wife just before Ivan. As you can imagine, the whole situation with his house wasn't a priority.

The front of the house was ripped off and the house is now completely exposed. It is a total loss.

Thanks. I have always wanted to know the reason.

 

[Kurt]

Sorry for the confusion. I didn't make myself clear. We paid for and put up sand fencing in front of our home OURSELVES. We tried to put it back up again after Arlene and the county said NO, we had to wait until the Fall. Just wondering if they would lift that restriction.

Sorry I misread your post.