Nor’easter aftermath: Sussex County beaches could have long recovery ahead

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After a nearly six-day nor’easter churned up the East Coast, Delaware and federal officials are assessing damage the storm left in its wake.

Sussex County beaches like Bethany Beach, South Bethany and Dewey Beach took the brunt of the storm, with flooding and beach erosion. Bay communities like Pickering Beach, Slaughter Beach and Bowers Beach were also heavily impacted.

There were no deaths or injuries caused by the storms, though there was some property damage.

Bethany Beach, in particular, saw significant loss to its dunes. According to Mayor Ron Calef, dunes were reduced to about a quarter of their designed size. Beach visitors now face a steep drop-off about 12 feet high where they could previously walk down to the beach from the boardwalk. Access points to the beach are currently closed.

Greg Patterson, secretary of the state’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said despite this, the dune “did its job” to protect the surrounding area.

“It’s not great that it all got eaten away, but that is what it was designed to do and you didn’t have flooding into these businesses or homes. You didn’t have the boardwalk torn apart by waves like it would have happened 20 years ago before this dune,” Patterson told WHYY News.

At a press conference on the Bethany Beach Boardwalk, Gov. Matt Meyer said the state is looking at what investments toward the beaches have worked in protecting it, and figuring out how to partner with the federal government on future beach replenishment.

“Storms like this remind us that we really need to double down,” Meyer said. “These investments are hard to make. They are not cheap. It’s expensive for us. It’s expensive for the federal government and often it’s expensive for towns, but it’s really important we make those investments on a day like today.”

Replenishment projects in Delaware are completed in partnership with DNREC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Patterson said that the state can work on short-term solutions, but it will likely take years to make the beach communities fully resilient to storms.

“[The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will] go through their process working with us to identify how much sand is needed and what those projects might need to look like, but then it is going to become a funding question,” Patterson said.

Meyer said he is hopeful that the state can secure federal funding for the projects, and that it will be partnering with the state’s congressional delegation on “making sure this national treasure is taken care of.”

‘Astronomical damage’

DNREC staff have completed initial assessments of the storm’s damage and are working to restore vehicle access to beaches for emergency services. Later, teams will prioritize restoring public access depending on beach conditions.

DNREC announced earlier this month that beach-replenishment projects at Pickering Beach, Kitts Hummock, Bowers Beach and Slaughter Beach would be delayed until fall of 2027, due to real estate requirements not being met.

DNREC officials said some natural beach recovery may occur over the coming days as tide conditions die down.

Bethany Beach suffered beach erosion after storms last year, and Calef said there are concerns about future storms hitting the town.

“A storm without that dune hitting this town would do astronomical damage,” Calef said. “And it’s not just a matter of affecting this town. It affects the state. It affects the county.”

Calef said Bethany Beach has been able to receive emergency federal funding in the past after storms impacted the beach, and that he believes the dune’s current state would mean they qualify for those programs.

According to South Bethany Mayor Edie Dondero, the town also lost more than half of its dunes. She also said she’s concerned about more storms later this fall and winter.

“The dunes did not breach with this event. They did their job. They held and protected the ocean from affecting our homes and our roads and infrastructure,” Dondero said. “But with another storm, we could have a breach of the dunes, and then we’ll have even bigger problems.”

Dondero said South Bethany is hoping to keep the remaining dunes intact while they wait for replenishment assistance from the state and federal government.

“Without that assistance from those parties, there’s not much we as an individual town can do,” Dondero said.

As of now, there is no cost estimate from the state for the storm’s damage.