Sunset Beach reopens after crews restore dunes that took brunt of Hurricane Idalia

TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. - Sunset Beach is now back open after taking the brunt of the storm surge during Hurricane Idalia at the end of August.

Over the last two months, the city and county worked together, spending more than $6 million to restore the dunes on the beach. Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall on Florida's Gulf coast left devastating storm surge across the state and damaged area beaches.

"Sand dunes play a vital role in storm surge, so when the storm surge comes on and the storm comes through, it helps block that storm surge, you’re still going to get some flooding into the neighborhood, and sometimes the surge is going to go over the dunes, but it stops a lot of the brunt of the storm surge, and it actually stops a lot of the wind that comes in," said Jason Beisel, a spokesperson for the city of Treasure Island.

READ: Sunset Beach to reopen this weekend after month-long emergency dune restoration project

Parts of the beach on Treasure Island closed on September 22. Officials on Treasure Island said around 60% of the dune system in Sunset Beach was gone after the storm.

With the beach back open, the city wants beach goers to pay close attention to the signs. Follow the pathways onto the beach and avoid stepping on the dunes.  

That’ll allow the vegetation to grow, so the beach can be as protected as possible, in case another storm comes close.