After storm surge
Some North Sea islands lack sand for the new bathing season
The storm surge season so far has caused significant damage to the beaches on some North Sea islands. photo
© -/dpa
Winter storms have hit some North Sea islands hard: in some places the beaches have been almost completely washed away. What does the damage mean for the holiday season?
After a turbulent storm surge season, some of Germany’s beaches are missing North Sea islands sand for the upcoming bathing season. On Wangerooge, the winter storms have almost completely washed away the main beach.
“This is quite a disaster,” said Rieka Beewen, the mayor’s general representative. Accordingly, almost 80,000 cubic meters of sand were missing. The islands of Norderney and Baltrum also reported significant sand losses. It was said that fewer beach chairs could initially be set up on Baltrum than usual. The beaches are now to be replenished using dump trucks that bring sand from eastern parts of the islands.
The East Frisian Islands off the coast of Lower Saxony recorded more sand losses than the North Frisian Islands in Schleswig-Holstein, according to a survey by the German Press Agency among the island municipalities. The storm “Zoltan” around Christmas in particular caused damage. Lower Saxony’s state government promised the island municipalities financial help to rebuild the tourist infrastructure.
On Sylt, too, frequent and long-lasting storms in the winter season have visibly affected the beaches, as Grietje Stöver from Insel Sylt Tourismus-Service GmbH said. “Years like this happen occasionally.” The State Agency for Coastal Protection (LKN.SH) assesses how badly Sylt’s beaches are actually affected and what measures need to be taken for coastal protection every spring during its beach tour – this is due to take place shortly. On the islands of Amrum and Föhr, minor damage should be repaired by the start of the bathing season.