BROADKILL BEACH, Del. - Mother Nature celebrated Mother's Day Weekend with a powerful nor'easter that brought tropical storm-force winds that caused beach erosion along the shore of Delaware Bay.
In Broadkill Beach, the erosion was noticeable over just a few days. "[The beach] was probably about 15 to 20 feet farther out on Thursday," said Matthew Severe, a dog walker who has been traversing the dunes for a year and a half. "It's a drastic difference if you look at the drop-off right where it comes down...now it's just a sand wall."
While most locations along the southern shore of Delaware Bay recorded wind gusts in the 40 to 60 mph range, just a few miles down the shore in Lewes, one reporting station reported a gust of 72 mph on Saturday afternoon.
Some homes received minor damage. "We did have one neighbor with a wind gauge," said Broadkill Beach homeowner Mark. "He said it hit 47, or 49 mph, which lifted up a lot of things and threw them around."
Fortunately, the damage to homes and businesses was only minor.
"We didn't have as much damage as we typically would see, or as many claims come in," said Randy Brown, account executive at Avery Hall Insurance in Milton, Del.
That's important because many property insurance costs can be much higher along the coast.
"Coastal areas have higher wind and hail deductibles," said Brown. "[Newcomers to the shore] could be used to seeing $500 or $1,000 deductibles. However, out here, we get five or ten percent wind and hail deductibles."
That means that homeowners could be on the hook for $5,000 to $10,000 in out-of-pocket expenses for every $100,000 of damage.
While homes and businesses dodged the brunt of the storm, it was a reminder of the power of Mother Nature and her oceans.
