springtides.* It was this prolongation of superelevated water which was the critical factor as 

 far as the destruction of the coast and the built-up areas along the coast were concerned. 

 The raised water level allowed the waves to cut into the backshore of the beaches; along the 

 various reaches of barrier islands, numerous breaktliroughs and washovers occurred. 

 Moreover, the high waves removed to offshore locations an enormous amount of material 

 fronj. the beaches and dunes, only a part of which was subsequently returned to the beaches 

 by normal wave action. Total damage was estimated at over $200 million and 28 lives were 



lost.216 



The March 1962 storm was one of the most physically destructive and monetarily costly 

 storms to ever hit the eastern coastal zone of the United States. While the States of New 

 Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, New York, and North CaroUna were declared disaster 

 areas, actual shore damage extended from northeastern Florida to New England. 



Immediately following the storm, an emergency program was put into operation, and the 

 BEB was intimately involved in the work. The BEB staff was organized into teams and each 

 team went to the various Corps of Engineers' District offices located in the stricken areas. 

 Damage to beaches was examined and technical advice given regarding remedial measures. 



One of the first concerns was to provide some form of beach protection in the event 

 another storm should soon strike the area. The best solution was to replenish with sand 

 tliose beaches which were in poorest condition. To assist in this effort, tlie BEB staff, under 

 the direction of Joseph M. CaldweU, then Chief of the Research Division, utilized data 

 obtained from an experiment on shore erosion by storm waves run a few years 



previously in the 635-foot-long wave tank. Additional emergency tests were conducted in 

 the large tank between April and August 1962.^^^ Based on these two sources of data, 

 guidelines were developed for the amount of sand to be placed along a given stretch of 

 eroded beach to protect that beach from a storm with a recurrence interval of once in 10 

 years. These guidehnes became known as tlie Caldwell Section.^^^ The North Atlantic 

 Division Office of the Corps of Engineers then appUed the Caldwell Section to poststorm 

 emergency operations in the field.** As a result, some 11,800,000 cubic yards^^*^ of sandy 

 material were transferred from back-bay areas and pumped or otherwise placed on the 

 shoreface to restore eroded beaches. 



This enormous demand for quantities of sand for beach nourishment made increasingly 

 evident an important fact that had already been realized at the BEB. This fact was that the 

 material which accumulates in estuaries and lagoons was less satisfactory for beach 



*Springtides are tides which occur about twice a month at new moon and at full moon. Due to the earth's position 

 in relation to the sun and the moon at these two lunar phases, springtides are about 20 percent greater than the 

 average tide. 



When the moon is at perigee, it is in its orbital position closest to the earth. This fact also increases the average 

 height of tides by 15 to 20 percent. Thus, the combination of springtide plus perigean tide (an infrequent 

 coincidence) results in abnormally high tides.^lS 



**Joseph M. Caldwell, of the BEB staff, was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Award for the advice and 

 guidance he provided in the wake of the March 1962 storm. 



90 



