MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW)- Beaches in our area took a hard hit during Hurricane Matthew, and now crews work to clean up debris left from the storm.
Tuesday, Donna Miller and her family lined the beach to see what was left behind from the storm.
“It breaks your heart. It’s just amazing how much force and how much damage is done,” said Miller.
Now, the beach is leveled after the storm wiped away the dunes.
Tuesday, crews worked endlessly to clean up the remnants of the Springmaid Pier in Myrtle Beach. The iconic pier now sits in piles after the strong winds and waves ripped it away.
“The pier in particular has got a special place in a lot of people’s hearts. We’ve had people coming down telling their stories about the pier. We’ve had people that got engaged there, people that have gotten married on the pier,” said General Manager of the pier and Double Tree Hotel Michael Frits.
Frits says they hope to have the pier rebuilt by spring break, but just like many in the community, rebuilding will be a process.
“It’s a wonderful community. We are so happy and blessed to live here. They’ll come back together and be stronger and better than ever. They did after Hugo,” said Frits.
Frits says right now, they don’t know if they will tear down what’s left of the pier and start from scratch or build on to what’s left of it.
City Spokesperson Mark Kruea says they’ve had crews out since Sunday working around the city and on the beaches to clean up what was left behind from the storm.
Kruea says the dunes in Myrtle Beach aren’t due for a renourishment until 2018, but even before the storm, city leaders had been working in Washington to see if they could save money by having Reach 2 and Reach 3 renourished next year when the emergency renourishment from Reach 1 is scheduled.
