‘The inlet is resilient.’ Locals react to damage morning after Hurricane Ian

Residents of the Murrells Inlet area began the task of cleaning up Saturday morning after Hurricane Ian brought coastal flooding, high winds and heavy rain to the area.

Wicked Tuna staff was at the Murrels Inlet Marshwalk Saturday morning, cleaning up the restaurant and the area outside.

Christa Ward, director of operations at Wicked Tuna, said that no one expected the damage to be as bad as it was.

“We were all kind of out here being storm chasers, watching it, watching our babies to make sure what was gonna happen. None of us were prepared for it to be this bad,” Ward said.

Ward added that the businesses along the Marshwalk would be able to rebuild quickly.

“The inlet is resilient,” Ward said. “A lot of restaurants took hits and a lot of damage, but we’ll be back open.”

Residents near the Marshwalk area could be seen clearing broken tree limbs from driveways and piling debris with rakes.

Hurricane Ian made landfall in South Carolina early afternoon Friday, marking it’s second assault on the U.S. mainland. Four piers were damaged in the Myrtle Beach area, including a pier in Cherry Grove, North Myrtle Beach, and a pier in Pawley’s Island.

Captain Blake Buckner, a charter captain, said that Hurricane Ian was his first hurricane experience in Murrells Inlet. Being from North Carolina, Buckner had seen similar damage from storms in the Outer Banks area.

“It was pretty raw, you know, a lot of flood damage and stuff like that. But other than that, I think we made it through all right,” Buckner said.

Debbie Carter, a Murrells Inlet resident, lost power for six hours. Carter went to the Marshwalk Saturday morning with her son to see the damage.

“We’ve spent a lot of time on the Marshwalk,” Carter said. “We were really concerned about it.”