While many coastal and inland communities in the Pacific Northwest suffered from major flooding during last week’s four-storm punch in as many days, the South Beach remained relatively unscathed.
Revetment overtopping
Seawater overtopping was strong along the Point Chehalis revetment in Westport’s Marina District during the extremely high tides on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 10, 11 and 12. Big waves, many topping 25-feet, spumed over the rock wall, carrying rocks and logs onto the street beside the Port of Grays Harbor Observation Tower.
All that water flow caused flooding at high tides along a three-to four block stretch of Westhaven Drive, as well as along Cove Avenue and Neddie Rose Drive all three days.
However, the city’s highly engineered catch basin drainage system did its job well, sending the rolling waters down into the Westport Marina before they rose over curbs and onto sidewalks.
Erosion everywhere
The high waves pushed by strong winds repeatedly battered the entire South Beach coastline, chewing away huge clumps of sand and natural vegetation along the west side of Half Moon Bay just south of the foot of the South Jetty. Continuing erosion all along the Pacific shoreline from the South Jetty past the Cohassett Beach and beyond down to Bonge Ave. also took a big hit with this round of storms, with most areas losing three to four feet of land with some others giving up to at least ten feet along the bankline.
Huge waves also pounded the Northern edge of Willapa Bay along Washaway Beach at high tides, chewing away large chunks of land and tossing logs and stumps repeatedly against the fragile shoreline.
The wave action was so strong last Thursday that the rock seawall forming a small peninsula around the Tumidanski property at what’s left of the foot of the old highway to Tokeland started to fail, with waves crashing up to and eventually destroying the front deck steps of the residence there. In an effort to save the house, the southern length of wall is currently in the process of being rebuilt.
New erosion is also evident northward along the coastline from the mouth of Willapa Bay for more than a mile in the North Cove neighborhood.