Beachfront properties losing the beach in south Brevard County

Commissioners approve help to protect 13 properties

After two major hurricanes, some south Brevard County residents are watching their beachfront properties run out of sand.

One man living on SR-A1A in Floridana Beach told News 6 on Wednesday that this is the worst loss of beach he's seen since Hurricane Jeanne in 2004.

"You can only lose so much beach and then pretty soon it's in your house," the man said, asking to remain anonymous. "The beach is down a considerable area."

Hurricane Matthew battered Brevard beaches, tallying $25 million in damages including the destruction of sand dunes, and eroding beaches enough to trigger emergency action from the county.

"They're in peril because there's such an amount of erosion behind their homes that the dune is now up to their back door," said Don Walker with Brevard County Emergency Operations.

County commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved action to help 13 oceanfront properties.

That includes efforts to rebuild the beach and push water back to where it was before the storm.

"We're trying to take quick action now instead of letting this situation continue," Walker said.

Some folks are not as optimistic as emergency leaders, saying whatever the county does will just be a short-term fix.

"Eventually, Mother Nature is going to take the island away," the Floridana Beach resident said. "It's going to happen over a period of time. It may take a few hundred years yet but she'll take it back eventually."

The county will make efforts to repair the beach, pulling money from the Tourist Development Tax on hotel rooms and other short-term rentals.


About the Author:

James joined News 6 in March 2016 as the Brevard County Reporter. His arrival was the realization of a three-year effort to return to the state where his career began. James is from Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

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