Even though Hurricane Irma brought higher winds and lasted longer than Matthew, it did not do nearly as much damage to island docks and other waterside structures as last October’s storm.
Matthew created a major storm surge and high waves that scoured the eastern shore of the lagoon, wrecking millions of dollars’ worth of docks, piers and walkways from the Sebastian Inlet south to the county line, hitting Ambersand, John’s Island and The Moorings hard.
The damaged dock from Hurricane Irma at Royal Palm Pointe Park on 9/12/2017.
This time around there was much less damage overall and most of it was on the western, or mainland, side of the lagoon.
That is because Matthew passed by to the east, 40 miles out at sea, while Irma’s eye was about 130 miles west when it came parallel to Vero Beach, creating winds that pushed in the opposite direction as those that blasted the area in October 2016.
National Weather Service Hydrologist Peggy Glitto said “the direction of the winds would have been pushing the water west to northwest and that would have resulted in more damage to the docks on the west side.”
In keeping with Glitto’s assessment, the city-owned pier at Royal Palm Pointe Park lost planks and some pilings that will cost about $70,000 to repair and replace, said Monte Falls, Vero’s director of public works.
The damaged dock from Hurricane Irma at Royal Palm Pointe Park on 9/12/2017.
On the south side of the Royal Palm Pointe peninsula, a dock at Quail Valley’s new restaurant and hotel was broken up and a boardwalk behind the Royal Palm Pointe condos was washed away. A dock behind the Rennick building was damaged, too.
In Vero Isles, south of Royal Palm Pointe, homes along the canals running west from the lagoon had water rise above their sea walls and docks, according to Robert Grice, who lives on McKee Lane.
Many of the lower-built docks got lifted and slammed down by waves, and will require new pilings and planks. Most boats remained safe on their lifts, but at least one fishing boat ended up on dry land, the bow poking through trees lining Vero Isles Drive.
Gifford Dock, at the end of 45th Street and on the west side of the lagoon, built fairly high, survived the storm with no damage, as did Grand Harbor’s marina, about a mile north.
The damaged dock from Hurricane Irma at Royal Palm Pointe Park on 9/12/2017.
The City of Sebastian had no significant dock damage, according to Building Official Wayne Eseltine. He noted that the Sebastian Yacht Club was just built and the Main Street Dock is still being rebuilt and consists of concrete pilings. “There’s nothing to be damaged,” he said.
The main damage on the island side of the lagoon was at Riverside Café, which was flooded and lost one of its two main docks. “Only the two piers we put in after Hurricane Matthew held,” said owner David Lane.
“The restaurant was 1-foot-deep in water. We had seaweed and mud on the floor. We’ve been power-washing for days. It’s very clean now. We were closed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We opened 4 p.m. Thursday,” Lane added.
The damaged dock from Hurricane Irma at Royal Palm Pointe Park on 9/12/2017.
Vero Tackle, located in front of the café, lost four finger piers that extended from Lane’s surviving main dock.
The replacement for the lost dock “will be built higher so this doesn’t happen again,” Lane said. “It will cost $25,000 to $50,000, but insurance is covering everything.”
The Vero Beach City Marina, located a short distance north of Riverside Café, came out mostly unscathed. The docks were deluged, but only one pier was canted and will have to be reseated, said dockhand Ryan Miller. “There were 56 boats on moorings and they were all still there after the storm.”
The damaged dock from Hurricane Irma at Royal Palm Pointe Park on 9/12/2017.
The Vero Beach Yacht Club next door had only minor damage, Miller said.
Indian River County instituted a new standard after Hurricane Matthew, requiring pilings to be set 6 feet deep.
County Building Official Scott McAdam said his department will inspect docks in the county to see if the deeper pilings made a difference.
