ANNA MARIA – Mayor Dan Murphy said Oct. 11 he thinks the city’s north shore lost 30-35 percent of its white sands, but, he added, Bean Point has grown.
Murphy and Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Mike Jones toured the city’s beaches after the high waters caused by Hurricane Michael receded. Murphy’s opinion of the state of the beach is based on opinion and visual inspection, not on a formal study.
“We got really lucky,” Murphy said, adding the sea oats planted along the coastline helped keep the sand on the shore. “That’s what they’re there for.”
Anna Maria’s beaches also were spared from major erosion during Hurricane Irma in 2017. According to a coastal impact report published by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the beaches of Anna Maria were listed as only suffering “minor damage” due to the storm losing a lot of its momentum after making landfall.
Murphy said there’s no plan to replace the eroded sand at this time.
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Hurricane Michael brushing Anna Maria Island
