An early fall nor’easter causes substantial flooding and damage in Delaware’s coastal communities.
The nor’easter delivered stormy conditions for several days before moving away Sunday with beaches seeing severe erosion.
Roads in Dewey Beach saw flooding on both the bay and ocean sides, with some roads - including Route 1- closing for periods while the storm ran its course.
Dewey Beach mayor William Stevens says that their ocean facing beach has taken serious damage
"It was beaten. It was beaten bad. The dunes... it's pretty much done. What used to be about 30 yards is now about 30 feet, and that's where half of the dunes used to be" he said.
Stevens adds that although the beach damage was harsh, he is hopeful they have time to recover.
“The nice thing is that everything but the beach will be open soon. Dewey Beach is a very unique environment in that most of our revenue is generated from those that visit us. So it's imperative that we get the beaches open by next Memorial Day. And… we have several months to get there.” he said.
Among the damaged communities is Rehoboth Beach, which saw significant erosion to its beach and dunes, especially a sand ramp on Surf Avenue that has since become a sand cliff.
Rehoboth City Manager Taylour Tedder says beach replenishment projects were planned to have happened by now- but those plans fell through.
“We were scheduled to have beach replenishment last year, and then it was supposed to be this year- that still did not occur. Every time we talk to our federal legislators, that’s our kind of sound bite that we say: the only thing we need is beach replenishment. And we’re still kind of singing that tune.” he said.
Tedder says that although the damage they received was substantial, they might've gotten off easier than other communities.
"Luckily Rehoboth is a little bit higher up than most of the other resort towns along the coast, so we fared fairly well-, but we did lose a lot of beach"
Both Dewey and Rehoboth Beach, along with a number of other northern beach communities, had beach replenishment projects scheduled for this year, but are experiencing delays.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control says it already visited a number of damaged locations and is preparing to work with local municipalities and the US Army Corps of Engineers to begin clean-up efforts.
Tedder says part of that effort will be the repair of their Surf Avenue sand ramp.
DNREC released a statement to DPM to remind property owners to follow proper permitting procedures following the repair of storm damages.
"Property owners should be aware that storm damage does not automatically authorize the replacement or reconstruction of structures and other built elements on the beach or dunes. Anyone seeking to reinstall, repair, replace, or reconstruct decks, stairs, walkways, fencing, or other built elements in these areas should first contact their local government and DNREC" it said.
Along with the clean-up processes, DNREC says some natural beach recovery is expected over the coming days and weeks as tides and wave conditions return to normal.
