Army Corps of Engineers surveys Pawleys Island beach after Ian

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The Town of Pawleys Island is continuing their efforts to recover after Hurricane Ian brought several feet of storm surge, damaging the area’s beaches.

The Army Corps of Engineers surveyed all four miles of beach on Pawleys Island on Tuesday to gauge how much sand was lost on the beach because of Hurricane Ian.

Army Corps of Engineers Chief of Survey Sonja Zindars said this was the first time they have surveyed the beach since the storm made landfall south of the island.

For several hours, crews went up and down the beach, using equipment to map a 3D point cloud of the current beach. They will then compare the data over the next few weeks with historical data of what the beach looked like before the storm.

While they worked on the assessment, homeowners were rebuilding the dunes they lost because of the storm surge. One neighbor said he’s spending thousands to build back the dunes.

The Corps conducts this assessment to see if the town qualifies for federal money.

“If the town qualifies for FEMA funding through this assessment, it’ll pay for the cost to cover to bring more sand in to help further protect the island for future storms,” Zindars said.

Pawleys Island Town Administrator Daniel Newquist said they have a $1.5 million budget for the year and are relying on assessments like this to rebuild the beach.

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