By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org
News staff
Rhode Island state
beaches from Middletown to Westerly were battered by Hurricane Sandy.
Beach
pavilions, playgrounds and solar panels all sustained storm damage. But the
loss of sand was, by far, the biggest setback.
"Years and a century's worth of sand is just gone,” said Robert
Paquette, chief of the state Division of Parks & Recreation.
Sand dunes, most of them covered in beach grass, were blasted apart and washed inland by the storm surge.
Paquette said the sand
lost at beaches during storms is usually replenished within a few days, but so
far, the sand has not returned. “Instead of going out to sea, (the sand) went
on to land," he said.According to Paquette, the cost of damage and plans to rebuild are still being assessed. “We have to do something; we’re missing a lot,” he said.
For more information, visit the state
Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Sandy webpage.