Hurricane Ian leaves North Myrtle Beach with at least $13 million in damage

Hurricane Ian left more than $13 million worth of damage in North Myrtle Beach as the storm ripped across coastal Horry County.

City spokesman Donald Graham told The Sun News Oct. 5 that 1,659 structures were impacted — the majority of them single-family homes within the Cherry Grove neighborhood.

Ian’s economic impact to the city could be even larger as officials get a handle on how extensively damaged its beaches and dunes are.

The hurricane made landfall in South Carolina near Georgetown on the afternoon of Sept. 30 after ravaging parts of the Caribbean and southwest Florida.

Verisk, a New Jersey-based risk modeling firm, estimated that Ian could be responsible for up $57 billion in total losses.

By comparison, Hurricane Florence in 2018 caused about $24 billion in total damages, including $607 million in South Carolina.

Graham said almost half of the city’s damages were Cherry Grove, but sections in Windy Hill, Crescent Beach, Ocean Drive and the Barefoot area also were affected.

Gov. Henry McMaster told The Sun News this week state officials are compiling damage assessments that will be used to determine eligibility for federal relief.

Coastal portions of Horry County felt the brunt of Ian because of a storm surge of up to seven feet. That wiped out thousands of dunes and erodes beach across the Grand Strand.