Hurricanes Helene And Milton Leave Massive Sandbarriers To Florida's Recovery

Hurricanes Helene and Milton have left a trail of destruction along Florida's Gulf Coast, with the unexpected consequence of mountains of sand obstructing recovery efforts. The powerful storms have dumped massive amounts of fine, white sand, transforming it into a costly impediment to recovery for homeowners and municipalities.

Residents of Bradenton Beach, about an hour's drive south of Tampa, are working tirelessly to dig out from under the sand. The roads are lined with sandbanks several feet high, surrounding some bungalows. The scene is comparable to a blustery Midwestern blizzard, with the sand resembling 4 to 6 feet of snow.

Roughly an hour south of Bradenton Beach, Ron and Jean Dyer have seen their condo building on Venice Island inundated with sand. Hurricane Helene had blown approximately 3 feet of sand up against the building... which took dozens of volunteers armed with shovels and wheelbarrows two days to dig out of the condo's pool. However, Hurricane Milton soon filled the pool back in. Contractor Scott Bennett, who has worked in storm recovery since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, has never encountered sand to the extent seen in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

"I've never seen sand like this," Bennett said. "Wind, rain, water, but never sand." The sheer volume of sand has left communities struggling to recover, "with the fine," "white sand creating literal barriers to access." The recovery efforts are ongoing... with authorities and residents working together to clear the massive amounts of sand.

The incident serves as a reminder of the unpredictable nature of hurricanes and the importance of preparedness and resilience.

Source: Found here

Residents of Florida's Gulf Coast are digging out from mountains of sand after Hurricanes Helene and Milton clobbered them with back-to-back hits in less than two weeks BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. -- When a hurricane sets its sights on Florida, storm-weary residents may think of catastrophic wind, hammering rain and dangerous storm surge. Mounds of sand swallowing their homes? Not so much.