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Sisyphus on the Beach: Dorian Underlines Coastal Cities' Endless Rebuilding
Task

Reuters

   JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FLORIDA - Just months after the U.S. Army Corps of
   Engineers completed a $16 million project to restore sandy beaches in
   Jacksonville, Florida, Hurricane Dorian is about to pound them again,
   illustrating the uphill battle that American coastal cities face in
   protecting their most valuable asset.

   The hurricane, which has already caused devastation and at least five
   deaths in the Bahamas, is forecast to cause some erosion at about 80
   percent of the sandy beaches between Florida and North Carolina as it
   curves northward this week, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

   That figure is similar to forecasts ahead of other past major
   hurricanes in the region, and some of that erosion will be temporary:
   Sand that gets swept offshore in a storm is slowly returned to the
   beach in the following weeks in gentler weather.

   But dunes, which are often the last buffer between the ocean and
   coastal buildings and infrastructure, can take months or years to
   naturally recover from damage.

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