- April 23, 2024
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A nor’easter that recently hit Flagler County displaced much of the sand that the county used to reinforce the coastal dune north of Flagler Beach — causing the most damage in areas where property owners had declined to let the county conduct the reinforcement work, according to county staff.
The county is still surveying the damage along the 11-mile project stretch.
“Certain areas were hit really bad,” Flagler County Engineer Faith Alkhatib said.
The recent damage follows damage caused to the dune reinforcement by Hurricane Dorian last September. The county is still working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair that damage.
“We are working with FEMA to get some funding to do another project,” to repair the Dorian damage, Alkhatib said. An additional proposed project would reinforce areas near the Hammock Beach Club.
After Dorian, the county lost an estimated 102,000 cubic yards of fill for the 11-mile stretch north of Flagler Beach, not including Washington Oaks Gardens State Park.
The county provided FEMA with some information on the damage from Dorian, but the agency asked for additional information before it will fund the work, and the county does not want to begin construction until it has the federal agency’s backing. The county and the state have been going back and forth since December.
Alkhatib said she’s hopeful that the county will secure federal funding.
“We’re always looking for grants, looking for funding, to do our best here to protect our infrastructure,” she said.
