PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — As Hurricane Idalia slammed into the Gulf Coast shoreline, Tampa Bay-area beaches took the brunt of the storm. The sand was forced inland as every single Pinellas County beach suffered severe erosion.
Now, dozens of public beach access points are closed as the crossover ramps have no sand beneath them to support them.
"It's so bad that underneath the walkway, there's no sand, there isn't any sand," Indian Rocks Beach Mayor Cookie Kennedy said.
On Friday morning, Kennedy held a press briefing where she pleaded for action to be taken to help our beaches.
"We are gravely concerned with the damage that occurred from Hurricane Idalia," Kennedy said. "We ask the Army Corps to reverse their decision made concerning the coastal communities in Pinellas County and renourish our beaches."
The dunes are damaged. Mangroves have been uprooted. Inland roads are covered in sand.
All beach renourishment projects in Pinellas County have been put on pause by the Army Corps of Engineers. The project, formally known as the Storm Reduction Project, is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.
The federal program covers the majority of the costs. The remainder is covered by Pinellas County.
Recently, the Army Corps changed its requirements for the project to move forward. Now, 100 percent of homeowners in the zoned project areas are required to sign a perpetual property easement. The easements give the Army Corps rights to a portion of the homeowners' property, forever.
Beach renourishment is vital in protecting communities from the wrath of a storm.
"Well Idalia was much more severe than the past storms we've had," Pinellas County Coastal Management Director Dr. John Bishop said. "I've been working for the county for about 10 years. And this is by far the most severe erosion we've had post-storm."
Every single beach in Pinellas County lost a significant amount of sand because of Hurricane Idalia. On Indian Rocks Beach, 14 access points are now closed to the public because of the severe loss of sand — making the entry points unsafe.
Fourteen beach accesses are still open. And to repair the damage done by Idalia, it'll cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"We estimated impact to the city's about $600,000," Indian Rocks Beach City Manager Gregg Mims explained. "About $530,000 having to do with the beach walkovers that we've lost."
It'll take the city months to repair beach access walkovers. Indian Rocks Beach city officials estimate brought 1/3 of the beaches washed away.
"We put signs up this morning reminding people about not to cross the accesses," Mims said. "A five or six-foot [drop-off in] some cases, the almost seven-foot drop is not a safe thing."
Pinellas County officials assess Hurricane Idalia damage: Before and after photos
As we enter the holiday weekend, Mims said it is what it is. Now, officials can only hope another storm doesn't head towards Tampa Bay.
"We were already in a fairly eroded state when this came. But now all the protection we have is gone. So we're pretty vulnerable," Bishop said.
In Sunset Beach on Treasure Island, the beach is already two years past due for renourishment. Now, the situation is even more dire.
"Lots of lots of sand buildup," Randy Esponda said. Esponda is a managing partner at the company that owns Caddy's. "Inside of the building in front of the building. Lots of debris."
The beach access crossovers were already closed in some places due to severe beach erosion. Now, Idalia swept away even more sand.
"All the sites we went to so probably 20-30 feet of dune erosion. And the beach was gone," Bishop said.
Throughout coastal Pinellas County, roads remain closed as crews work to clear the sand.
"We know that we had between 80-90 dump trucks of sand that had to be removed. I think it was between Madeira Beach and Treasure Island," Cathie Perkins, the Pinellas County Emergency Management director, said.
On Pass-a-Grille, multiple beach accesses are now closed due to erosion.
"It's pretty much been across the board from Clearwater all the way down to Pass-a-Grille. All of our beaches have experienced significant erosion," Bishop said.
Next week, the Army Corps of Engineers will host a public meeting to share updates on the storm damage reduction project. That meeting will be held in Indian Shores on Friday morning.
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.