the St 



orm 



How Hurricanes Reshape Beaches 

 and Building Standards 



By Kathy Hart • Photographs by Spencer Rogers 



Six months ago, Hurricane Fran slammed ashore along 

 North Carolina's southern coast. The tropical storm hurled 

 high-velocity winds, pounding waves and floodwaters head- 

 on at barrier islands that hadn't looked a powerful hurricane 

 in the eye in more than 30 years. 



The immediate result was devastating: buildings 

 destroyed or damaged; roadways washed away or buried by 

 sand; electrical, phone and municipal services disrupted; 

 miles of beach sand and dunes sucked from the shoreline; 

 and scores of items, from boats to family photo albums, 

 swept away never to be seen again. 



The toll of Fran's fury was high: millions upon millions 

 of dollars in damage and emotional scars that will last a 

 lifetime. After a 30-year reprieve, the people of coastal and 

 eastern North Carolina were given a firsthand lesson — one 

 with a lasting impression — in hurricane dynamics. 



But what were the subtler messages delivered by Fran? 

 As researchers assess the aftermath and recovery, they're 

 taking a hard look at hurricane impacts on the Tar Heel coast. 



Hurricanes and Coastal Geology 



To the average vacationer or even full-time coastal 

 resident, a beach is a beach. Its gritty sands slope from the 

 base of the dune to the edge of the surf. In the summer, the 

 slope is gentler and the beach wider. Winter storms mold a 

 steeper, more narrow beach face. The dunes, topped with 

 creeping vines and waving grasses, stand as tall stalwarts of 

 the beach. 



It's all a pretty picture. But there's more to a beach than 

 meets the eye. 



Geologists Stan Riggs of East Carolina University, Bill 

 Cleary of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington 

 and Steve Snyder of N.C. State University say beach 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 3 



