Most beaches held up well during storm, still sections of West Beach lost a lot of sand
GULF SHORES, Ala. (WKRG) — Beautiful but brutal. The Gulf of Mexico was still churned up by the storm system that moved through overnight reclaiming a lot of sand, in places, that had just been pumped onto the shoreline.
“This looks familiar to what we experienced last year,” John Qualheim, who is back for his annual trip south for the winter, said. We met him last year on what was then a disappearing beach, “Sliver beach right now.”
Development of Embassy Suites Gulf Shores underway
In the year since he was here, crews have pumped over a million cubic yards of sand onto Gulf Shores beaches. Most of it is still here but in some sections of West Beach, it is gone.
“When you look at it now you think, ‘Oh my God! All the sand’s gone. The renourishment project was done for nothing,'” Gulf Shores Emergency Management Coordinator Brandan Franklin said.
Still, Franklin said the city did what it was supposed to do.
“Honestly, I think it held up really well,” Franklin said. “Had it not been there, we would have had waves crashing on structures, so I was really proud.”
Crews will not return to patch up areas the storm took away. Mother Nature will do that in the Spring, according to Franklin.
Storm damage reported in the News 5 coverage area
That will be long after John Qualheim has returned to Wisconsin with another story to tell about the power of the Gulf of Mexico.
“I’m surprised to see it down here, but water does what it wants to do,” Qualheim said.
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