Volusia County businesses, engineers seek solution to coastal damage after hurricanes

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Hurricanes Ian and Nicole caused a lot of damage in Volusia County, as seawalls collapsed and buildings were deemed unsafe.

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Channel 9 has spoken to business owners and engineers about what it will take to fix our coast.

Read: ‘It keeps rising’: Deltona floodwaters continue to creep toward homes after back-to-back hurricanes

The county said that adding things will better disperse those storms’ energy, but getting these things accomplished may not be quick or easy.

Bernie Crouch runs the Mad Dog Surf Shop in Daytona Beach Shores.

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He has lived and surfed in the area for more than half a century.

“The biggest problem is probably the amount of sand that was taken off the beach by the swells,” Crouch said.

He said that lowering the beach about 6 feet and exposing the bottom of the seawall makes them vulnerable.

“I don’t think they expected it to be quite the storm it became and it had a lot of impact on any type of structure,” Crouch said. “It just ate all the remaining sand away from anything.”

Read: Daytona Beach Shores residents return to condos deemed unsafe after Hurricanes Nicole, Ian

It will be a long process before any repairs will be made. There is less room for trucks to get on the beach because the beach is small. Sand, permits and the work they need to get the job done are tough to obtain.

Civil engineer Dustin Dipersia said one idea is to use large rocks along the coast as a temporary barrier until a universal seawall can be built.

This solution could protect the coast from future storms.

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