Managers of Martha’s Vineyard beaches, particularly south-facing ones, say that they have dodged a bullet after the remnants of Hurricane Erin passed through late last week and weekend, but high surf and surge did leave some systems more vulnerable to future storms.
“It was a body blow,” David Espindle, Edgartown beach and recreation director, said on Monday of the impacts to South Beach, which has been hit hard in recent years.
While Erin was far out to sea, it still brought what the National Weather Service estimated were up to 15-foot high surf, gusty winds, and strong storm surge from Wednesday evening into Friday.
Espindle, after reviewing the impacts of Erin over the last few days, said that storm surge took some sand away from the dune system at South Beach and deposited it onto the beach, as it is intended to do. That made the beach much wider. But a battered dune system will make South Beach that much more vulnerable going forward.
“This makes it a little more vulnerable going into the winter,” the director said. “If we get unlucky, that’s where difficult things happen,” he said with the thought of potential winter storms coming through.
South Beach was hit particularly hard in the winter of 2023-24, which badly damaged Atlantic Drive and several buildings, including an old bathhouse. Last year, the town underwent a substantial project to build back the dune system, and the town is also working on a permit for a longer-term solution, so they can be less reactive and more proactive to storm damage, Espindle said.
Elsewhere on the Island, Chilmark beach superintendent Martina Mastromonaco — who was anticipating a worst-case scenario prior to Erin — said that Chilmark’s beaches fared well, and may have even gained more sand.
“We dodged a bullet,” Mastromonaco said, reporting no loss of equipment or major erosion or damage.
Prior to Erin late last week, emergency responders and town officials were sending out alerts about high riptide and wave action. Multiple beaches were closed, including South Beach.
The Dukes County Emergency Management Association put out a notice about high rip currents on Thursday morning, noting that strong waves and significant beach erosion were expected.
Are all my clams in Katama Bay now buried by SAND?
They shoulda been covered by sand before the storm…
Many states along the east coast have the Army Corps of Engineers do beach ‘replenishment’, which is simply pumping back the sand where it belongs. When I grew up South Beach was much wider and we had the ‘bunker’ on the sand. Beach replenishment is just as critical as dredging harbors and channels. Its an ongoing maintenance procedure that needs to be implemented before its too late.
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