Hurricane Ian may damage thousands of SC dunes, Horry County coastal areas under storm surge watch
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Hurricane Ian hits SC coast
The latest news and updates on Hurricane Ian.
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More than 10 percent of South Carolina’s dunes could be inundated from flood waters and rain brought by Hurricane Ian, according to a Sept. 29 U.S. Geological Survey forecast.
The news comes as Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach were all placed under storm surge warnings by the National Weather Service through Saturday morning as wind gusts of up to 80 mph remain possible based on Ian’s track.
“Coastal flooding’s going to be a big deal. It’s going on now and will continue to get worse as Ian makes its way toward South Carolina and starts to push that water inland,” Horry County emergency management director Randy Webster told reporters Thursday morning.
The National Weather Service’s “window of concern” for peak storm surges is open through Sept. 30.
Potential impacts include:
- Damage to buildings near coastal areas
- Washed out or weakened near-shore roads
- Interruptions to sewer services and drinking water supplies
- Potential major beach erosion with heavy surf and elevated water levels breaching dunes
- Difficult navigating inlets and waterways
- Small crafts breaking away from moorings
Because Ian is expected to make landfall in a high tide cycle, Webster said the result could be similar to a storm surge.
“You start seeing the ocean push in and of course low tide won’t be as low as usual with this going on, and high tide will be higher than usual,” he said.
County spokesman Thomas Bell said officials have piled sand at beach access points to fight off surges and keep people away from the water.
Whether natural or man made, dunes play a key environmental role.
“Sand dunes offer ecosystem services, including defense from surge and waves during storm events, habitat for wildlife, tourism, recreation, and carbon sequestration,” the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science explains on its website. “Natural dunes are highly dynamic features that are constantly changing in response to erosion from storm events and recovery during calmer periods via wind- and wave-driven sediment transport.”
Meanwhile, North Myrtle Beach is under “double red flag” conditions, with all their access points closed to the public.
The city’s ocean rescue team says “dangerous currents are already affecting the area, and beach erosion is likely,” spokesman Donald Graham said in a press release.
This story was originally published September 29, 2022 at 5:38 PM.
