The erosion was caused by the large sea swells that pounded the coastline for most of last week. An advisory on the impending onslaught was issued as a Severe Weather Advisory by CDERA on March 18 as a result of a low pressured system centered over the North Atlantic.

According to the release, the entire northern coastline, was pounded by 12 to 15 foot waves resulting in the erosion of some beaches and the washing up of rocks and seaweed on others.  On some beaches, such as Captain’s Bay and the Cove Bay, water surged 20 to 30 meters beyond the normal high water mark.


Erosion at Crocus Bay

The beaches impacted most by the high waves were: Captain’s Bay, Blackgarden Bay, Limestone Bay, Crocus Bay, Katouche Bay, Long Bay, Mead’s Bay and Barnes Bay. 

Beach rock, which is normally covered by several feet of sand, was exposed on beaches such as Captain’s Bay, Blackgarden Bay and Barnes Bay. Many rocks, meanwhile, were washed up on Crocus Bay and Limestone Bay.  Limestone Bay and Katouche Bay were the most severely damaged as the entire beach at Limestone Bay was washed away and up to 80 percent of the sand from Katouche Bay was eroded.  According to Gumbs, the erosion of these beaches is seen as temporary and their pre-Easter beach profiles are expected to be gradually built back over the summer – assuming no further significant storm impacts from similar storms or hurricanes.

Beaches protected by extensive adjacent double reef systems, such as Shoal Bay East and Island Harbour were spared the brunt of the pounding waves; serving as a reminder of the importance of the coral reefs to shoreline and sandy beach protection.

High-Volume sand beaches such as Mead’s Bay, were able to withstand the assault and still maintain a significant amount of sand – Limestone Bay and Katouche Bay were not as fortunate, highlighting the vulnerability of beaches that are still being illegally mined for sand.

“Sand mining can have disastrous impacts on beaches both from an ecological standpoint and from a social standpoint when the effects of such activities on our tourism industry are taken into account.”  Gumbs emphasised in the release. He called on all Anguillians and visitors alike take a strong stance against sand mining on the island and to report all such incidences of sand mining to the relevant authorities.  “Furthermore, all should lobby our decision makers to take a firm stance against sand mining on the island.” he said.

In addition to the beach damage there were three reports of boats breaking their mooring and washing up on shore as a result of the high swells. Two were located in Crocus Bay and one in Island Harbour. One of the boats in Crocus Bay was found washed up in a rocky area on the southern end of the beach and was completely destroyed.


Erosion at Limestone Bay