Assateague Storm Update: ‘The Island Survived … But There Is Considerable Damage’

ASSATEAGUE -- Assateague Island was slowly coming back to life, at least from a human standpoint, yesterday after Hurricane Sandy made her presence felt early this week, but the barrier island, like most coastal areas, took a good beating.

Two days after the last vestiges of Sandy cleared out of the area, the Assateague Island State Park reopened for visitors yesterday morning on a limited basis, while the Assateague Island National Seashore remained closed. The National Seashore was expected to open to the public on a limited basis by Friday morning.

The beaches at Assateague suffered considerable erosion with the front of the man-made and natural dune line sheared off on the ocean side leaving sand fences, railings and other structures completely erased or dangling from their supports in many cases. According to Assateague Island National Seashore spokesperson Rachelle Daigneault, the heavy surf breached the dune line in some spots and the ocean was still flowing behind the dunes into park areas during high tides.

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