re: Hurricane Milton - The Cleanup Begins...

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U.S. Geological Survey experts project that Hurricane Milton, expected to make landfall on Florida’s west coast as early as Wednesday, will bring significant coastal change.

Currently, 95 percent of the sandy beaches on Florida’s west coast are forecasted to become inundated—meaning continuously covered by ocean water—from Milton, according to a USGS coastal change forecast issued Monday. This is the most severe level of coastal change and can cause flooding behind sand dunes that may impact coastal communities.

USGS experts estimate Milton’s waves and surge have the potential to cause both 100 percent of all ocean-facing beaches in Florida to experience erosion and overwash. Overwash occurs when water levels reach higher than the top of dunes. When a beach is overwashed, sand can be pushed and deposited inland, causing significant changes to coastal landscapes and blocking roadways. Overwash can reduce the height of protective sand dunes, alter beach profiles, and leave areas behind the dunes more vulnerable to future storms.

“The significance of the coastal change forecast for Milton’s impact to the Florida west coast cannot be overstated as I believe communities are more vulnerable to this storm’s impacts due to the erosion that occurred recently from Helene,” said Kara Doran, a USGS supervisory physical scientist who works on the coastal change forecast. “Our initial analysis looking at imagery collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration after Helene shows most of the west coast experienced overwash or inundation and complete erosion of dunes, so those protective dunes are no longer in place for many locations.”

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