Posted on April 5, 2022
The bill to repair Sydney’s beaches following a tidal surge on Saturday is expected to cost millions.
The mammoth repair job is set to take years with Saturday’s surge the worst the city has seen since 2016.
According to Professor Andrew Short from the University of Sydney, the high tide was caused by a 50cm storm surge in Sydney and another 80cm surge in Port Macquarie.
Professor Short told the Brisbane Times that the damage done to the coastline could take “several months to a year” to repair.
While this repair time is predicted based on pristine conditions, it is likely the NSW coastline will cop more damage as La Niña weather continues.
“This is what we can anticipate in the coming decades as sea levels rise permanently,” Professor Short said.
The massive surge engulfed the shoreline on a number of NSW beaches on Saturday washing up debris and water vessels.
The swell reached up to 7.3 metres with high tides of two metres across northern beaches.
Northern beaches mayor Michael Regan said the damage is expected to cost millions to repair.
“We are yet to determine the clean-up bill, but expect it to be several million,” he said.
