Myrtle Beach’s dunes ‘did their job,’ helped minimize Hurricane Ian damage

Hurricane Ian’s punishing storm surge and strong winds caused more than $2 million in damages across Myrtle Beach, but officials say the outcome could have been more severe if not for the performance of its sand dunes.

“Our beautiful dunes did their job. Really saved us from a lot of damage,” JC Blackhurst, the city’s parks superintendent, said Oct. 19. “I have a lot of people ask, ‘when are we going to build back,’ and my answer is we don’t want to jump into anything, we don’t want to rush into anything.”

Blackhust told the city’s Beach Advisory Committee a 2019 project to install fencing along strategic locations to capture windblown sand also helped minimize Ian’s impact.

There’s no immediate timeline for when the sand may be replaced — or how much is needed — but Blackhurst said crews are making the work a priority.

“I don’t want to waste time, waste money, going the wrong direction,” he said.

Ahead of Ian’s Sept. 30 landfall in South Carolina, the U.S. Geological Survey warned of expected damage to thousands of dunes across the state, with up to 11 percent of them pushed underwater.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveying crew assayed all 60 miles of the Grand Strand’s beach front earlier this month ahead of a report to local and state officials to give a better idea of sand loss and erosion from the storm.

Dylan Burnell, an Army Corps of Engineers spokesman, told The Sun News Oct. 19 results won’t be available for at least a month.