CRYSTAL BEACH, Texas – The Houston area dodged the worst of Tropical Storm Alberto, but that doesn’t mean we got away without a scratch.
Our barrier islands took a beating from Alberto’s storm surge. Galveston Bay and nearby barrier islands saw two to four feet of storm surge roll onto the island.
For communities on the Bolivar Peninsula, this turned out to be a devastating punch to their solo line of defense when it comes to fending back the angry waters of the Gulf of Mexico: sand dunes.
“This ain’t a storm. This is disturbance out in the Gulf,” said Crystal Beach resident Shane Stone. “It’s 400 miles away and look what it’s done.”
In some areas of Crystal Beach, roughly 25 yards worth of sand dunes were seemingly washed out overnight.
Some homes are now exposed to the elements at their foundation with the waves from the Gulf nearly hitting their pilings.
At one home in the Tidelands community, the entire backyard and dunes were washed away.
“Every bit of 10 to 12 foot height. Gone,” said Stone.
For the second day in a row on Thursday, storm surge was eating away at the beach and dunes.
Residents recorded video of sand literally washing away in front of them.
“This used to be all yard. These dunes was over this,” Stone explained. “We’re going to lose these houses.”
Sand dunes are one of the best ways to hold back the Gulf of Mexico’s destructive storm surge.
Researchers in Southwest Florida highlighting the importance of dunes after Hurricane Ian in September 2022.
At Florida Gulf Coast University, researchers are employing the help of LIDAR-equipped drones to map the beach before, immediately and after Hurricane Ian.
Their findings show that storm surge takes two swings at their target: once on the way in and again on the way out.
“We realized that the storm surge actually causes problems twice, once coming in the so-called flood surge and once going out the ebb surge,” said Dr. Mike Savarese with The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University. “And that returning water created, oh, horrendous conditions, in fact, most of the damage.”
It’s that ebb surge that’s ripping away the dunes from Bolivar Peninsula.
“Could you imagine if we actually have a hurricane,” Stone said. “A category one, category two. What it’s going to do?”
A Galveston County spokesperson told KPRC2′s Gage Goulding on Thursday that crews are still evaluating the extent of the damage.
Then they’ll be able to devise a plan to mitigate the damage until the end of hurricane season.
But the reality is, it’ll take time and that’s the one thing residents don’t have with another tropical system already brewing in the Gulf.
“Unfortunately, I think we’re doomed,” Stone said.