Hurricane Matthew’s storm surge and waves overwashed 177 miles' worth of beach dunes in four states - about 11 percent of the sand dunes on Florida's Atlantic coast, 30 percent along Georgia’s coastline, 58 percent of dunes on South Carolina’s sandy beaches, and 9 percent of North Carolina's dunes as the powerful storm brushed past the Southeastern states October 6-9, Hurricane Matthew accelerated ongoing beach erosion along the eastern end of Ocean Isle Beach, NC. Hurricane Matthew - October 8-9, 2016 . In North Carolina, the hurricane’s impacts were dominated by heavy rainfall that led to inland flooding, but storm tides also overtopped about 48 kilometers (30 miles) of dunes, according to the team's preliminary analysis. When a storm is about to strike the U.S. Atlantic coast, the team predicts the likelihood of coastal erosion and other changes, using a computer model that incorporates the National Hurricane Center’s storm surge predictions and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wave forecasts. Team members have begun inspecting and documenting the findings with the help of college students at Flagler College. Over the years, erosion took its toll as it does, and a couple dozen of those houses were lost to the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Eta heads offshore leaving six dead in North Carolina and Florida. I was in New Smyrna for a closing on my new house, and my son and I took a look at the beach. Dorothy Rowland and Nick Budsberg, both members of the St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program, examine the shipwreck on Crescent Beach. The images clearly capture the damage at Florida’s Vilano Beach, north of St. Augustine, where the storm surge and wave runup washed away a five-meter (16-foot) sand dune, destroying oceanfront homes’ boardwalks and decks. Katie Llewellyn's home food in more than a … The hurricane's impact on Southeastern shorelines was less extensive than a pre-storm prediction, which called for 24 percent of Florida’s Atlantic coast to be overwashed by the storm surge, said USGS research oceanographer Joseph W. Long. Long and his fellow scientists on the USGS National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards storm team, headed by research oceanographer Hilary Stockdon, are working on a detailed assessment of Matthew’s effects on the region’s vulnerable shorelines. Hurricane Matthew’s storm surge and waves overwashed 177 miles' worth of beach dunes in four states - about 11 percent of the sand dunes on Florida's Atlantic coast, 30 percent along Georgia’s coastline, 58 percent of dunes on South Carolina’s sandy beaches, and 9 percent of North Carolina's dunes as the powerful storm brushed past the Southeastern states October 6-9, according to USGS experts' preliminary review of USGS low-altitude before-and-after images along of the coast and NOAA photographs collected after the storm. ... about 55 miles (90km) north-east of Jacksonville Beach… The program is the work of a team of researchers who have helped to identify several shipwrecks discovered in the area. Numerous houses on Edisto Beach are uninhabitable due to damage and some may be unrepairable. It’s hard to believe that Hurricane Matthew hit Edisto Beach almost three months ago, but not for those still dealing with the damage. Hurricane Matthew was the strongest tropical cyclone to affect the First Coast of Florida since 1898.A late-season Category 5 hurricane in late 2016, Matthew was the first hurricane to threaten the Floridan coastline as a major hurricane since Wilma in 2005. Before Edisto Beach reached its heyday, Edingsville Beach was all the rage. They believe the timbers are likely from the Caroline Eddy -- an American merchant ship. REUTERS/Phelan Ebenhack Friday, October 07, 2016 Meide added that there isn't any treasure buried with the ship and that anything of value was most likely stripped from it back in the 1800s. "In late August 1880 the Caroline Eddy left Fernandina bound for New York with a cargo of lumber," according to a. Meide told CNN that they are at the beginning of their research, but at this moment the clues line up that it might be that wreckage. Nichols, S.C. Four years after Hurricane Matthew dumped more than 17 inches of rain on this Pee Dee town, Nichols Mayor Lawson Battle still hears … Public domain, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), Mapping, Remote Sensing, and Geospatial Data, http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/matthew/. Hurricane Matthew update from Myrtle Beach – and it’s confusing. Debris and branches of fallen trees are seen outside a house in Jacksonville Beach, after Hurricane Matthew hit, Florida. They are now comparing low-altitude, oblique aerial photos taken in September 2014 to photos collected Oct. 13-14, about a week after the storm. To preserve the site, the county has roped off the area and posted signs to warn visitors to not disturb the area. Hurricane Matthew is already a tragedy. See more before-and-after-Hurricane Matthew photos from Florida through North Carolina at http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/matthew/ and learn more about the USGS coastal change hazard team's hurricane research at http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/, Office of Communications and Publishing12201 Sunrise Valley DriveReston, VA 20192United StatesPhone: 703-648-4460, Low-altitude oblique photography taken before Hurricane Matthew (Sept. 6, 2014) and after (Oct. 13, 2016) shows the storm cut a new inlet between the Atlantic Ocean and the Matanzas River near St. Augustine, Florida, stripping away a 3.7 meter (12-foot) dune and carrying sand into the estuary.Public domain, Low-altitude oblique photography taken before Hurricane Matthew (Sept. 6, 2014) and after (Oct. 13, 2016) in Flagler Beach, Florida, shows that waves washed away part of Highway A1A and obliterated a 5.2-meter (17-foot) dune. In the past there were two additional rows of streets and beach houses at this location; Hurricane Hazel (1954) destroyed the first row, then Hurricane Hugo (1989) destroyed the second. "Everything we've seen on it so far fits that hypothesis; wooden planking, wood timbers, iron fasteners," Chuck Meide, director of the organization, said in the release. Hurricane Matthew strengthened as it approached the east coast of Florida. After each hurricane in recent years — Joaquin, Matthew, Irma, Maria, Florence and Dorian — lodging failed to recover completely until the following year. "The St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program is committed to saving our maritime history and passing these stories on to our future generations.". Above: Low-altitude oblique photography before Hurricane Matthew (Sept. 6, 2014) and after (Oct. 14, 2016) at Vilano Beach, Florida, shows storm surge and wave runup washed away a 5-meter-high (16-foot) sand dune, destroying boardwalks and decks and exposing an old seawall. Matthew weakened to a category 3 hurricane round 06a 00 UTC 7 October about 35 n mi east of Vero Beach, Florida, and became a category 2 hurricane by 0000 UTC 8 October about 50 n mi east-northeast of Jacksonville Beach, Florida. By mid-afternoon, the eye of Hurricane Matthew passes through Wilmington, North Carolina and saturated the ground with approximately 15 inches of rainfall. In St. Augustine, the storm caused extreme high tides with some coastal flooding and beach erosion at Fort Matanzas National Monument, according to the National Park Service. The closure of the Mannon C. Gore Bridge due to high winds and water submerging the causeway has made further evacuation of Sunset Beach impossible. "It's great to see there is so much interest in it.". An official vehicle navigates debris as it passes along Highway A1A after it was partially washed away by Hurricane Matthew, Oct. 7, 2016, in Flagler Beach, Florida. But that hasn't been confirmed yet as the team still has months of research ahead. Eta then moved into the Gulf of Mexico and made its second Florida landfall on November 12, just south of Cedar Key, roughly a 130-mile drive northwest of Tampa. “These low-altitude photos give us a clear view of the dune itself. "The wood is in really good shape," Meide said. Due to the high cost of excavation, the wreckage will not be completely excavated, Meide said. The erosion led to the discovery of the shipwreck that researchers think might be the remains of the Caroline Eddy. It killed hundreds battering through the Caribbean, and knocked out power, forced evacuations, and flooded beaches as it scoured the Florida coastline. South of St. Augustine, the storm surge opened up a new inlet between the Atlantic Ocean and the Matanzas River, stripping away a 3.7 meter (12-foot) dune and carrying most of its sand into the estuary. Over 70% of all known historic shipwrecks lost in Florida are merchant vessels that were moving goods from one port to another along the Atlantic coast, according to the researchers. 2. Several interior areas of Virginia Beach experienced a <1% annual chance flood event during (Canal #2 to London Bridge Creek) 4. The sand has helped to preserve the wooden structure. A bomb squad was called to a South Carolina beach after Hurricane Matthew apparently unearthed old Civil War cannonballs from the sand. In 1866, Edingsville Beach had only 41 houses, two church buildings, and a billiard saloon. "We wouldn't want everyone to dig it up or break off pieces of it.". Hurricane Matthew is still impacting the Southeast coastline of the United States, with North Carolina facing floods in the wake of a large, slow moving storm that has decimated the coastline. Hurricane Matthew formed off the coast of Africa in late September of 2016 and moved into the Caribbean as a tropical storm. St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program.