FLAGLER BEACH, Fla. – Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning as a Category 3 hurricane in the Big Bend area of Florida, but officials in Flagler Beach are worried about further erosion in an area hard hit by past storms.
Tom Gillin, Flagler Beach ocean rescue director, said high tides combined with a full moon, had them worried about dunes that have severely eroded with each storm over the last decade.
Gillin said the last high tide was 7:45 a.m. and that no major erosion or damage has been reported so far.
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“We’ve got another high tide at about 8 tonight and we’ll look and see what happens there but we’re hoping the worst of it is behind us,” Gillin said, but urged that they are not in the clear yet. “Sometimes there’s the issue where a couple days down the road when you’ve got both storms out in the Atlantic, they’re still churning things up and sending big swells onto the coastline. So, the rip current danger is even more of an issue a couple days after the storm.”
Gillin warned that nice weather after the storm may give a false sense of security, but said rip tides will continue to be a problem as Hurricane Franklin remains offshore in the Atlantic, and Hurricane Idalia is expected to clear land and make its way back into the ocean sometime on Thursday.
If you do find yourself caught in a rip current, the first step is to not panic and try to swim against the current. Turn on your back and float for a few seconds and try and alert people on the beach.
Next, start swimming parallel to the coastline until you begin to feel the pull relax.
From there, start swimming back to shore at an angle. Many panicked swimmers try swimming straight back to shore. That causes them to swim against the current, which increases their risk of drowning due to fatigue.
A final update on Hurricane Idalia from Sheriff Rick Staly.
— Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (@FlaglerSheriff) August 30, 2023
While Flagler County was spared from any major impacts of the storm, our thoughts are with all the residents in Florida's Big Bend region and the rest of those in the hurricane's path. pic.twitter.com/xaZ741IIfT
News 6 reported in June that Florida is giving Flagler County an additional $18 million for dune restoration. That’s on top of the $17 million the county was given in December as part of the governor’s state recovery plan after hurricanes Ian and Nicole.
Flagler Beach officials said with Labor Day approaching, they will have a full lifeguard staff on duty for the next few days and through the weekend.
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