There is major erosion from Hurricane Hermine in Holgate, NJ.
Photo courtesy of The Weather Channel

Hurricane Hermine struck the Northeast on Labor Day weekend.

According to The Weather Channel, the storm traveled through the Caribbean from the coast of Africa. At this point, Hermine was a tropical storm; meaning wind speeds were below 74 miles per hour.

Hermine then steered toward the Northwest of Florida from the Gulf of Mexico. It was declared a hurricane before making landfall in Florida on September 2^nd. The storm traveled up the East Coast, later returning to the status of a tropical storm before hitting New Jersey.

However, the surge from Hermine did cause major damage to NJ beaches. NJ.com reports that almost a third of New Jersey beaches experienced damage as a result of the storm. The major damage from the storm has been in the form of beach erosion. This is especially true for the Township of Brick, NJ.

Many towns have attempted to combat this issue of erosion by replenishing the beaches with loads of sand. This plan has not been widely embraced, though.

According to NJ.com, John Ducey, mayor of the Township of Brick, NJ, has not ordered for sand to fill the beaches. He says that the sand will only be washed away by any upcoming storms. In Brick, crews are relocating sand further up the beach during low tide. This is to level the beach and cover the wall that was created during the storm without using any shipments of sand.

While the erosion in New Jersey may not have been as evident as the strong winds and rain in Florida, it will certainly have a lasting effect.

By Kaitlyn Brown’19, Staff Writer