Posted on November 14, 2022
Parts of South Florida are dealing with an erosion emergency after the beach ended up in the street.
High tides and coastal erosion are a major concern in the area, but the effects of Hurricane Nicole Wednesday night only made matters worse.
Crews were out with Bobcats repairing the beach in Hollywood, Thursday afternoon, behind a barrier closing off access to the public.
“When I came back this morning, I was completely in awe,” said Chris, a Hollywood resident. “I could not believe it did this overnight.”
Residents who live along Surf Road and Walnut Street found streets buried and beaches bare, thin and suffering from erosion after Nicole’s wind and rain blew through the area.
“We had rain bands Tuesday night,” said Carmen Zayas-Bazan, a Hollywood resident. “The sand started coming off the beach into the street, and then all of Wednesday it happened, and then Wednesday night it really happened.”
7Skyforce flew over the Broward coastline showing empty beaches and the surf slamming into mangroves.
There was a house where the sand had been washed out from under its foundation.
Chris surfs in the area. He was out collecting coconuts.
He said, after the damage caused by last night’s system, he is making it his mission to plant coconut palms in hopes of preserving what’s left of the beach.
“The root systems hold in the sand that keep the barrier still intact, and if you didn’t have a lot of these in the ground, along the coast, it will just wipe out the rest of the beach,” Chris explained.
Officials said the areas south of Port Everglades have the most damage. Right now, assessment of the beaches continues.
