CEDAR KEY, Fla. — When Hurricane Idalia slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast in August, one of the hardest hit areas was Cedar Key.
A nearly 7-foot storm surge battered the small fishing community, flooding a third of the buildings on the island. In a new report, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says Idalia caused an estimated $3.6 billion in damage, most of it in Florida’s Big Bend region. But on Cedar Key, when the water receded, scientists found some good news amid all the damage.
Nature-based “living shoreline” projects built to protect roads, buildings and other structures were relatively undamaged.
On Cedar Key over the past several years, a team of researchers from the University of Florida has used a variety of tools to mimic nature. Instead of building seawalls and jetties, they’ve brought in sand, put in marsh plants and used artificial reefsto encourage the growth of oyster beds offshore.
Advertisement
/ Octavio Jones for NPR
/
Octavio Jones for NPR
Near Airport Road on Cedar Key, large concrete reef ball structures have been installed to break waves and encourage oysters.
People who live on the tiny island year-round are no strangers to storm surge and flooding. Because it’s so low and close to the water, the town sees flooding during even small storms. In 2016, Hurricane Hermine brought then-record storm surge and flooding. Savanna Barry, an extension agent and researcher with the University of Florida, says that with that history, the devastation of Hurricane Idalia wasn’t unexpected. “Shocking’s not really the right word, but certainly overwhelming,” she says. “But we were happy to see the living shorelines had relatively little damage.”
Advertisement
/ Octavio Jones for NPR
/
Octavio Jones for NPR
Extension agent and University of Florida researcher Savanna Barry helps oversee the newest living shoreline project in Cedar Key near G Street.
Near the island’s western edge recently, Barry checked up on one of the living shoreline projects. Just a day before this visit, a storm system in the Gulf brought high winds, damaging surf and minor flooding to this part of the island. “But you see this debris line, how it bends towards this vegetated area,” Barry says. “That’s really showing you how this is affecting that wave power.”
Advertisement
That’s what living shorelines do. They don’t reduce the height of a storm surge or stop the waves from coming ashore. But they absorb and reduce the energy of incoming waves. Barry says that provides significant protection to roads, buildings and other structures onshore. “Even if they do still get flooded, they may not get as battered by wave energy,” she says.
/ Octavio Jones for NPR
/
Octavio Jones for NPR
Advertisement
After Hurricane Idalia, researchers found that living shoreline projects helped protect buildings on Cedar Key like this hotel by reducing incoming wave energy by 15% to 20%.
Three living shoreline projects have been created in Cedar Key. In August, as Hurricane Idalia strengthened in the Gulf and headed toward Florida, researchers placed wave gauges onshore and offshore to monitor the height and power of the storm surge. The gauges showed the living shorelines significantly reduced the height and power of the waves reaching the shore.
/ Octavio Jones for NPR
/
Octavio Jones for NPR
Advertisement
Scientists and volunteers plant small plugs of marsh grass that, if left undisturbed for a few years, grow into a dense “living shoreline.”
Barry says, “We saw that even at the highest water levels, this project was reducing incoming wave energies between 15 and 20%.”
And unlike docks, seawalls and other human-made structures, University of Florida wetlands ecologist Mark Clark says their projects came though the hurricane largely unscathed. “When the water receded and we looked at these shorelines,” he says, “they were minimally impacted by the actual event.”
Throughout Cedar Key, nearly six months after the storm, buildings and docks are being repaired and rebuilt. On the living shorelines, nature is doing the repairs as oyster reefs repopulate and mangroves and marsh grasses regrow.
/ Octavio Jones for NPR
Advertisement
/
Octavio Jones for NPR
Marsh grasses help armor the shoreline with a dense root system that holds onto the soil. As water moves over it, the grass bends and flexes, absorbing wave energy.
Marsh grasses, Barry says, play a key role in protecting the shore. As waves break over them, she says the dense root systems hold on to the soil. “They create kind of an armoring of their own underneath the soil with a very, very dense web,” she says. “Then also, as the water moves across them, they bend and flex. That bending and flexing is absorbing wave energy.”
Marsh grasses also trap new sand, slowly increasing the elevation. At another living shoreline project on Cedar Key, that increased elevation helped protect an important road from being washed out in Idalia — something that had happened in a previous storm.
Advertisement
/ Octavio Jones for NPR
/
Octavio Jones for NPR
There’s growing public support for nature-based projects in Cedar Key. Some private landowners have begun installing living shoreline projects on their properties.
Living shorelines have been advocated for decades as an alternative to human-made shore-hardening measures. Sea walls, common in most coastal areas, cost more in the long run. They often fail when they’re overtopped in storms. And they increase coastal erosion in adjacent areas that don’t have them.
Advertisement
/ Octavio Jones for NPR
/
Octavio Jones for NPR
Rebuilding is still underway on Dock Street in Cedar Key. Businesses there took some of the worst damage in Hurricane Idalia.
Living shoreline projects are more resilient. They improve water quality and help provide habitat for plants and sea life. But in Florida and elsewhere, Barry says living shorelines have been slow to catch on. “It may be hard for some people to believe that nature can be a defense,” she says. “I … think it’s just human nature to trust a wall more than something else.”
In Cedar Key, because residents live so close to the water, Barry says there’s public support for these nature-based projects. Working with the town, the University of Florida developed a master planto manage the island’s shoreline. And some private landowners have begun installing living shoreline projects on their properties.
Advertisement
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
/ Octavio Jones for NPR
/
Octavio Jones for NPR
Advertisement
On Cedar Key, because it’s so low and close to the water, the town sees flooding in even small storms. A third of the buildings on the island were flooded in Hurricane Idalia.
The Clemson Tigers are getting ready for what will be a crucial game in Week 14 against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
This rivalry matchup is not going to disappoint, as both teams are coming into the game as Top-25 schools. For the Tigers, there is a lot on the line in this matchup.
Due to Clemson not holding the tie-breaker against the Miami Hurricanes in the ACC and the SMU Mustangs already clinching a spot, the Tigers are going to have to hope for a Hurricanes’ loss to the Syracuse Orange if they are going to make the title game.
However, due to recent upsets in the SEC, another path might have emerged for Clemson to make the College Football Playoffs. If they can beat a Top-25 team in the Gamecocks on Saturday, it could be the type of statement win that propels them into an at-large bid.
Advertisement
While making the CFP still might be realistic, they first and foremost have to handle South Carolina, which will be no easy task.
The Gamecocks have also had a great season, and they could present some matchup problems for Clemson.
On offense, South Carolina is a run first team. Stopping the run has been an issue at times for the Tigers, as they just recently got torched on the ground against The Citadel Bulldogs. If Clemson is unable to stop or at least slow down the rushing attack for the Gamecocks, it will allow them to control the pace of the game. That obviously wouldn’t be ideal for the Tigers.
Furthermore, on the defensive side of things, the Tigers’ offense is going to have their work cut out for them against a very strong Gamecocks defense. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik has had a very strong season and this could end up being a defining game of his college career.
Going back to the win against the Pittsburgh Panthers, the Tigers’ offense really struggled on the ground trying to run the football. If that’s the case once again in Week 14, it will fall on the shoulders of Klubnik to get the job done.
Advertisement
This matchup could very well go down as one of the games of the week and potentially the year, with both teams being fairly even talent-wise on paper. For Clemson, this is a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive, as a win this late in the season against a Top-25 team would be a nice last thing to put on their resume.
Overall, the Tigers are going to need to have a balanced attack and prepare to stop the run if they are going to come away with the win against their rival.
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
The entire police department of a small South Carolina town resigned en masse, leaving the area without its own dedicated police force.
Chief Bob Hale of the McColl Police Department announced his resignation on November 21 in a social media post, citing a “hostile work environment perpetuated by a specific Councilman.”
“For months, I have endured unwarranted and malicious behavior aimed at undermining my integrity and leadership,” Hale wrote. “These actions have not only affected me personally but have also created a toxic atmosphere that has hindered the department’s ability to function effectively.”
The chief also said his department’s resources had been severely cut. The four officers under his command quickly resigned as well.
Advertisement
“At the end of the day, I have a family. And when my job is constantly getting threatened and certain things are getting said I’m not going to stay somewhere and tolerate that,” former McColl investigator Courtney Bulusan told WRAL.
“I’m not going to stay where I’m tolerated,” Bulusan said. “I’m going to go where I’m celebrated.”
As the town seeks new officers, the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office will fill in for the department police force, according to South Carolina Public Radio.
The town has gone through six chiefs in the past four years. Hale’s tenure in the position lasted little over a year.
“I feel unsafe. Very unsafe,” resident Lisa Bowen told local outlet WPDE. “Because anytime anybody could do anything.”
Advertisement
“They jump ship back and forth all the time,” Mayor George Garner told the Post and Courier newspaper. “This is nothing new.”
The paper reported that the councilman in question denied he had harassed any of the officers and told the paper the allegations were “hearsay.”
Such mass resignations, while uncommon, are not unprecedented.
The entire police force of Geary, Oklahoma, resigned earlier this month, Fox News reports.
UCLA’s win over No. 1 ranked South Carolina wasn’t a fluke, and Bruins center Lauren Betts says if you haven’t been paying attention, now would be the time to.
Let’s say the thing. It was not close on Sunday. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, UCLA commanded the floor and had an answer for everything the Gamecocks tried to do. The Bruins beat South Carolina on the boards (41-34), held four starters to under five points, and *checks notes* not a single starter went to the free-throw line. UGLY STUFF.
Furthermore, five UCLA players scored in double figures, including Londynn Jones, who was sensational from the line with five 3-pointers, and star center Lauren Betts, who had 11 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. WHEW. Postgame, Betts raved about her team and how proud she was, but she also sent a direct warning to college basketball. “If you’ve been sleeping on UCLA,” Betts said. “You need to stop right now.”
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25739950/247386_Elon_Musk_Open_AI_CVirginia.jpg "Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI")
