Study: Sandy Caused Erosion on New York’s Fire Island

More than half of Fire Island’s beaches and sand dunes were lost during Superstorm Sandy, weakening the island’s ability to withstand damage from future storms, a new U.S. Geological Survey study concluded.

Located in the Atlantic Ocean five miles off the south shore of Long Island, Fire Island suffered $10 million in damage to sand dunes, beaches, boardwalks and visitor facilities during the October storm. The barrier island’s beaches and dunes lost 54.4 percent of their pre-storm volume because of Sandy, with most of the sand carried offshore by waves and the storm surge, the study found.

Scientists flew to the island two days before Sandy made landfall to survey the coastline. They returned two days afterward and once a month through June to continue surveying.

“Sandy removed so much sand that the elevation of the beach itself dramatically dropped,” said geologist Cheryl Hapke, who led the study. “The dunes were pretty much leveled.”

The loss of shoreline changed the island’s shape by redistributing 14 percent of the sand further inland, Hapke said. Some inland sections are now more resilient to future storms, while outlying areas are far more vulnerable.

“What that means is storm waves and water levels can reach further into the island now,” Hapke said.

The strip of beaches is three-fourths undeveloped and includes the Fire Island National Seashore, a national wilderness area.

The island is considered to be a critical natural ecosystem, allowing geological researchers to study coastal changes wrought by storms.

It has just 300 permanent residents, but in the summertime the island’s population swells by 75,000 visitors who rent homes ranging in size from multilevel palaces to rustic bungalows