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Messages in the sand from Hurricane Sandy
By JoAnne Castagna
Days after Hurricane Sandy hit the Atlantic Coast of the United States in 2012, coastal engineers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District were walking the beaches to see the damages.
One of them was on a New Jersey beach and was stunned to see a house completely demolished nearby a house that looked like it was barely touched by Sandy's force.
Why was this? It's because the house that was still standing was on a beach that previously received beach nourishment and dunes from the Army Corps.
Other projects the Army Corps visited sent the same message. Beach nourishment and dunes are extremely important to reducing coastal damages after storms and hurricanes.
In fact, post-Sandy analysis shows that the Army Corps’ beach nourishment projects in the States of New York and New Jersey saved an estimated $1.3 Billion in avoided damages.
Now the Army Corps is taking these findings to improve future beach nourishment projects.
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