FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – The Flagler Beach Pier and State Road A1A survived their first tests of what’s expected to be a busy hurricane season.
Tropical Storm Isaias scraped along the Florida coastline Sunday and Monday, providing Flagler County a glimpse of what’s likely to come.
Mission accomplished … for now.
“For the sports fans out there, this is kind of like a preseason game for us to get prepared because we know we have all of August and September, which is big. Crucial months for hurricane season,” said Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney.
“So for the staff here, the City of Flagler Beach, it’s a good kind of dry run for us. Hopefully, we don’t need to do another one, but if we do we’ll be prepared.”
Isaias didn’t produce nearly the devastation that previously named storms have on the area, a blessing for area residents who have weathered significant storms over the past four years.
In 2016, the Flagler Beach Pier was pummeled by Hurricane Matthew and lost more than 150 feet. A1A took a massive beating as well. Hurricane Irma followed in 2017 with subsequent damage and Dorian hit last year. The pier reopened in early September after inspections showed hat it had weathered Dorian without damage.
A1A took quite a bit longer to restore.
The shoreline road was brought down to one lane following Hurricane Matthew’s damage. A $22.4 million project to fix it following the aftermath wrapped up last January. Doughney said that all indications are both the pier and the road made it through their first challenge of the storm season in great shape.
“It’s looking great. I just got off the phone with the Department of Transportation. They’ve got crews that came by this morning to inspect everything that they did held up,” Doughney said. “They just got done putting some rock revetment on the dunes to help keep the dunes in place and they look like they fared well, today and yesterday as well.”
Flagler residents told News4Jax they prepared and had a kit ready in time.
“I was expecting the worst of the worst,” said Peter Mckernan, an Ormond Beach resident. “I listen to the weather along with I listen to your station and I follow this checklist to a T. “It’s better to have it and not use it, then it is to not have it and need it.”
A red, no swim flag was seen flying on the pier. Several surfers spotted out taking on the high surf. Ocean Rescue was seen on ATVs patrolling the beach just in case.
Ocean rescue out patrolling Flagler Beach even though red no swim flags are flying 🚩 @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/x8YSRDT0yB
— Brittany Muller (@BrittMullerNews) August 3, 2020
" I was prepared already from the last hurricane I didn’t take it for granted,” said Joey Rivera, a Flagler County resident.
WastePro will not be collecting garage on Monday in Flagler County.