CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. - On Assateague Island near the Tom's Cove Visitor Center at the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge, heavy machinery was hard at work Wednesday afternoon.
"Storms of this magnitude happen every three or four years," said Superintendent Hugh Hawthorne of the Assateague Island National Seashore. "The last time this happened here was in the winter of 2018."
The storm system caused by the combination of the remnants of Hurricane "Ian" and a coastal low blasted sand and water over the four nearby parking lots. Tire tracks in sand and a traffic sign were the only evidence of a nearby roundabout.
"It wasn't a super bad storm," Hawthorne said. "But it was a very long length of a storm and eventually it just wore down the protection of the parking lot."
By Monday evening, more than six inches of sand and water covered the parking lots as the water breached the dunes and for a brief while, the Atlantic Ocean was connected directly to Tom's Cove.
The cleanup for just one parking lot will cost between $50,000 and $100,000. The National Park Service won't even touch the other three until spring 2023.
"I hope we don't have another one this winter" Hawthorne said. "But odds are we will, so that's the reason we're very cautious on what we actually rebuild right now."
The cost to clear all parking lots could cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million.
Kathy Lutz of Pennsylvania has been visiting Assateague Island for more than fifty years. She's afraid the beach erosion will only get worse in coming years.
"I think the storms are getting stronger," Lutz said. "I think they're going to be issues for people who live along the beach."
Others like Billy Stokes of North Carolina pondered the futility of controlling nature.
"Mother Nature always wins," Stokes said. "I don't care what anybody says. They can do all this they want to. It'll disappear again."
With the reduced parking at Tom's Cove Visitor Center, the National Park Service is encouraging visitors to the area this winter to visit the website for the Assateague Island National Seashore for any changes parking rules and procedures. You can also call 410-641-1441 for other updates and information.