Flagler County rebuilding dunes ahead of hurricane season's peak

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla - Flagler County’s dunes are getting a makeover. 

The County has been periodically closing and re-opening different parks as crews rebuild the beach. 

Right now, anyone hoping to hear the ocean roar from Jungle Hut Park is out of luck.

That sound has been replaced by the beeping and whirring of heavy machinery. The park is the site of Flagler County’s latest dune restoration project.

But County Engineer Faith Alkhatib explained the work isn’t just about making the beach look nice; it’s about protecting property and infrastructure. That’s getting done with "emergency sand" crews are trucking in. 

"After these most recent two storms, our beaches and dunes got damaged very badly. We lost a lot of sand there, there’s no protection for the residents," said Alkhatib. 

Workers are about halfway through trucking in sand to protect an 11.5-mile stretch of coastline. 

So why does this work now, right ahead of peak hurricane season? Won’t the sand just be washed away again?

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"Right now, if we don’t come in with this kind of protection dumping sand there, even with the high tides, we might have some flooding and impacts to the residents of Flagler County," said Alkhatib. "So we have to do it."

This work has actually been going on since January. But Flagler County’s Engineer says the beaches have needed semi-constant restoration since 2002, and things got even worse after Hurricane Matthew. 

The sand has to meet standards in color, size, and more; there are requirements for the slope of the dunes; workers have to be mindful of turtles.

It’s a slow-going process.

"Come up with a project, design it, and try to get it permitted," listed Alkhatib. "All of that takes time. Even if we get the engineering aspect of it done, we have to have the funding available."

But this is just a Band-Aid. 

Flagler County just got $40 million in funding from the State and FEMA. In the coming years, that’ll be spent on a more permanent solution in dredging. 

Dredging for Flagler Beach will start in May 2024. The County will work out dredging for the rest of the coastline after that.

The next stop for the emergency sand is Washington State Park.