Three storms in three years have carved away the sand dunes that shield Gulf Shores from the Gulf of Mexico, and city officials say the damage is now serious enough to threaten roads and buildings along the beachfront.
City Engineer Mark Acreman said erosion that began with Hurricane Nate worsened during Hurricane Laura and then accelerated sharply when Hurricane Sally came ashore. “We lost about 410,000 cubic yards of sand in Sally,” he said. “Took a big toll on our sand dune system.”
Why the dunes matter
According to Acreman, the dunes function as the beach’s first line of defense. “It acts as a guardrail, the waves come in and hit the sand and dune system first,” he said, explaining that the sand absorbs and dissipates wave energy. Sand is lost in the process, but the structures behind the dunes are spared.
West of West Sixth Street, he said, the dunes have been almost entirely flattened. That leaves Beach Boulevard and nearby property vulnerable to storm surge that in past years would have stopped short of the roadway.
City pressing FEMA for dredging money
Acreman said the city is asking FEMA to approve funding for a dredging project that would rebuild the beach profile and restore the dune system. He described the work as essential not only to protecting public infrastructure but to the tourism economy that depends on the beach itself.
Until sand is replaced, city officials say even a moderate tropical system could reach roads, utilities and buildings that the dunes previously kept out of reach.