Hurricane Ian underscores the vulnerability of the nation’s barrier islands.
Building on the islands and holding them in place with beach replenishment programs just makes them more vulnerable to destruction because they can no longer move, according to experts.
On Saturday, homeowners in the beach community about 73 miles up the coast from Charleston struggled to assess damage from storm. The causeways connecting the island to the mainland were strewn with palm fronds, pine needles and even a kayak retrieved from a nearby shoreline. The intercoastal waterway was littered with the remnants of several boat houses torn apart and knocked off their pilings in the storm.
But any big changes to the standard disaster response will be complicated, said Dawn Shirreffs, Florida director of the Environmental Defense Fund.
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