Lauderdale-by-the-Sea pier, again hit by powerful waves, loses even more pieces
Anglin’s Pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, already damaged by storms in recent years, was slammed again by the weekend’s gusty winds and strong waves, lopping off more fragments of the pier to the shore, and taking out navigational lights that boaters need to be able to see.
“We have Mother Nature in our backyard. We cannot control the backyard,” pier owner Spiro Marchelos said Monday.
Wind gusts in Pompano Beach were reported up to 52 mph in a storm system that in recent days brought severe weather across South Florida, with the downpours, strong winds and hazardous beach conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
In Lauderdale-by-the-Sea at the privately-owned pier, the wind pulled off pieces of the pier, and the debris littered the water and the beach, Marchelos said. All the wood on the beach has already been cleared, Marchelos said.
Navigational lights by the pier were also “knocked out,” he said. Those are helpful for boaters: They’re like “headlights on a car, so boaters nighttime navigating know there’s a pier,” Marchelos said. Restoration is expected imminently, he said.
A town spokeswoman said the owner has been asked to appear at a January commission meeting “to provide an update on what the damage is and the pier’s status.”
In preparation for the major storm system that took on South Florida, weekend holiday boat parades were canceled or postponed, and the city of Hollywood installed “Tiger Dams,” or reusable water-filled bright-orange flood barriers along the city’s Broadwalk.
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea’s Anglin’s Pier extended nearly 1,000 feet into the Atlantic from the end of Commercial Boulevard. The end portion had already been damaged by Hurricane Irma and was closed to the public when it was slammed again last year by Hurricane Nicole.
Other piers remained unscathed from the weekend flurry, such as Deerfield Beach’s International Fishing Pier, which was already scheduled for improvements after it sustained storm surge from Nicole last year. The pier in Pompano Beach had no damage, and was open.
In Lake Worth Beach, the William O. Lockhart Pier closed Wednesday afternoon in preparation for the storm so workers could flip every second board on the pier, said spokesman Ben Kerr. The gaps allow the waves underneath to go through the pier to keep the structure intact.
“You don’t want anything creating a lift on the pier,” he said. “Otherwise it would be ripped off.”
The pier remained closed Monday afternoon until workers can get out to put the boards back in place for pedestrian traffic.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash
