Hurricanes are devastating to everything they touch, but the destruction they wreak on the coasts are nearly unparalleled. The damage done to cities and towns are awful, and rebuilding will take many years and resources, but for coastal areas, hurricanes can lead to a problem known as beach erosion.
Beach erosion primarily diminishes the value of beach-front properties and increased vulnerability for homes and infrastructure near the shoreline. You may think that beaches are used for vacations and building sand castles, but actually beaches serve as a natural barrier against storm surges and flooding. Erasure of these areas can make it extremely difficult and unsafe to settle on the beachfront, leading to an influx of people attempting to live in cities and then problems with overcrowding. Similarly, they are also important habitats for various species, and helping to fix them can be an important step to healing the wildlife and ecological health of the community.
To combat this issue, beach nourishment is necessary. By replenishing sand and restoring beach profiles, beach nourishment enhances the beach's ability to absorb waves, reducing the risk of damage to coastal properties and infrastructure in future storms. Very little survives hurricanes, but beach nourishment helps prevent damages that normal storms would have caused if beaches were not there to shield.
Beach nourishment is also a crucial step in restarting businesses. As a beach, the main business center is tourism, and the faster a city can repair their main attraction the easier they will be able to financially recover from the devastation of a hurricane. For the mental health of residents, beach nourishment can help show that despite the horrors the storm brought, it is possible to rebuild and regain some of the beauty lost.
If interested in this opportunity to help rebuild from hurricane damage and to control beach erosion in Bal Harbor in Miami-Dade County, Florida, click on the link to learn more. The bid closes November 15, 2024 at 1:00 PM EST.