Moderate to severe erosion on Hilton Head beaches possible with Hurricane Dorian, officials say

Town of Hilton Head Island officials are preparing for potentially moderate to severe damage from Hurricane Dorian to the island’s beaches, which have been hit hard in recent years by storms.

The storm is expected to bring high waves and elevated water levels, Scott Liggett, town director of public projects and facilities, said Tuesday. “I would certainly expect that things are going to be moved around as a result.”

He said officials are ready to bring in contractors to survey the beach after the storm.

Hilton Head sand dunes are just starting to recover from damage caused by Hurricane Matthew, he said. The island lost about 700,000 cubic yards of sand and 33 acres of dunes during the 2016 storm.

A 6,000-foot stretch of beach dunes was completely leveled by the storm on the island’s south side.

The town spent about $7 million repairing beaches, Liggett has said.

Tropical Storm Irma in 2017 also damaged the beach, though about half of the amount of sand was lost, he said.

Liggett said the dunes — which work as a natural barrier against storm surge — were at their highest point in recorded history when Matthew struck. The town started island-wide sand fencing about a year ago to help the dunes grow.

“We have been making progress,” Liggett said, “and this might take us a step back.”

This story was originally published September 3, 2019 at 6:24 PM.