BARRIER ISLAND RESILIENCY AND HUMAN IMPACTS: LESSONS FROM HURRICANE HARVEY

Hurricane Harvey caused widespread damage and destruction to coastal resources and communities when it impacted the Texas coast in August 2017. Strong wind, waves, and storm surge substantially eroded the beach and dunes, causing significant scarps and berms. This paper presents an assessment of geomorphological changes and recovery since the impact of Hurricane Harvey at Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS), Texas. LiDAR surveys in the years preceding Harvey serve as a baseline for erosion/deposition by the hurricane. Post-storm geomorphology was assessed through oblique photographs, shore-normal survey-grade GNSS surveys, and a very high-resolution UAV survey encompassing a 14-km stretch of the beach and dunes. Results demonstrate that the beach and dune system sustained substantial erosion as a result of Hurricane Harvey, and that this erosion varied between driving and non-driving sections of the beach. In addition to geomorphic change on the open-marine coast, backbarrier geomorphology sustained erosion and damage to park resources/facilities. Post-hurricane surveys suggest that driving on the beach reinforces and highlights the framework geology as a driver of beach-dune morphology and recovery.