Residents in Florida faced a new challenge after Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit the Gulf Coast, as the storms brought massive amounts of sand into communities, creating literal barriers to recovery. The fine white sand, which is a sought-after commodity for Florida beaches, became a costly nuisance as it piled up around homes and buildings. Storm recovery contractor Larry West estimated that his team would need to do around $300,000 worth of work just to clean up the sand and debris left behind at one condo building in Manasota Key, highlighting the immense cleanup effort needed.
The morning after Hurricane Milton made landfall, roads in Bradenton Beach were lined with sandbanks up to a couple of feet high, resembling scenes after a blizzard. Residents like Ron and Jean Dyer in Venice Island found around 3 feet of sand blown against their condo building, requiring volunteers to spend days digging it out from the pool. The Dyers emphasized the challenging task of dealing with the sand continuously piling up in their area, making recovery efforts tedious and costly.
Contractors like Scott Bennett, who has been involved in storm recovery since Hurricane Katrina, expressed surprise at the amount of sand brought in by the storms. Many property owners, especially those without flood insurance, will likely have to pay out of pocket for cleanup efforts. Some areas designated for sand drop-off were quickly filling up, leaving contractors like Larry West unsure of where to transport the excess sand, further complicating the recovery process for residents impacted by the storms.
Pinellas County experienced a significant loss of sand due to the two hurricanes, estimating around 1 million cubic yards lost. This loss is a major concern for officials, as it represents a substantial amount of volume that would need to be replenished. A beach renourishment project in 2018 to shore up the county’s coastline with 1.3 million cubic yards of sand had cost over $50 million, highlighting the expensive and arduous task of restoring beaches after natural disasters like hurricanes.
Officials in hard-hit areas like Pinellas County are encouraging residents to return clean sand back onto the beaches to help replenish the lost volume. Various initiatives have been put in place to facilitate sand cleanup and disposal, including screening and cleaning sand at drop-off sites. The goal is to repurpose as much of the displaced sand as possible and make the recovery process more manageable for residents. Ultimately, the focus is on removing debris and ensuring that the beaches remain safe and clean for the community.
As residents in Florida continue to dig out of the storm-driven sand, the cleanup efforts remain a challenging and extensive task. Contractors and volunteers are working tirelessly to remove the sand that has accumulated in homes, buildings, and public spaces, with each shovelful proving to be heavy and tedious. The aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton has brought forth a new set of challenges for Florida residents, highlighting the resilience and determination needed to overcome the impact of natural disasters on the local communities.
