The storm surge season so far has caused significant damage on some North Sea islands – not only to protective dunes that serve to protect the coast, but also to some beaches. The East Frisian Islands off the coast of Lower Saxony recorded more sand losses than the North Frisian Islands in Schleswig-Holstein, according to a survey by the German Press Agency among the island municipalities.
The storm “Zoltan” around Christmas in particular caused damage. In order to restore washed-away beaches and missing beach entrances, Lower Saxony’s state government wants to help the islands financially.
On Wangerooge, the winter storms have almost completely washed away the main beach. “This is quite a disaster,” said Rieka Beewen, the mayor’s general representative. Accordingly, almost 80,000 cubic meters of sand were missing. “That is roughly the level of 2022, where we were really badly affected,” said Beewen, who is also the spa director of the easternmost of the East Frisian Islands. A bit of sand has now blown onto the beach again – but that’s not enough for swimming. The community is now planning to use dump trucks, so-called dumpers, to dig up new sand from the end of March. The costs are estimated at 400,000 euros.
The damage pattern is similar on the smallest East Frisian island of Baltrum. On the northern beach, as much sand was removed by the storm “Zoltan” and transported towards the east of the island as after the violent storm surge season of 2022. Around 60,000 cubic meters of sand are missing from the beach, as Mayor Harm Olchers estimates. The island is looking for companies to bring the sand from the east beach back to the north beach with dump trucks. That should happen in April and May. Until then, the island will have less space, for example to set up beach chairs for the beach, Olchers said. Moving the beach further east in the short term is neither feasible nor affordable.
Tens of thousands of cubic meters of sand are also missing from the beaches of the holiday island of Norderney. “After the storm surge season last winter was relatively calm, the bare Hans left clear marks on our beaches this winter season 23/24,” said island mayor Frank Ulrichs. Sand now has to be dug up, especially on the “White Dune” beach, which was already heavily eroded. Without this measure, tourism operations would not be possible, said Ulrichs. “The current beach level is once again significantly below that of 2022. Sand will also have to be dug up on the western beach.” However, there is no threat to the security of the island.
The largest East Frisian island, Borkum, also felt the effects of the winter storms. “Borkum is affected by the storm surge season and unfortunately we have lost large amounts of sand on all beach areas,” said Daniela Kastrau, marketing manager at Nordseeheilbad Borkum GmbH, when asked. The loss of sand varies from place to place. In addition to the beaches, the so-called Loopdeelenweg, a circular path made of wooden planks, is particularly affected. According to Kastrau, parts of its foundation were washed away.
The East Frisian island of Spiekeroog got off relatively lightly this storm surge season, as Mayor Patrick Kösters announced upon request. This also has to do with the location of the main beach, which is roughly in the middle of the island and not in the west of the island, where the wind and waves are particularly violent. There is enough sand on the beach, said the town hall boss. As is often the case after the storm surge season, hand work has to be done, for example to renew paths to the beach and remove drifts or bushes.
New sand losses have also been recorded on Langeoog this year, especially in the so-called Pirola Valley. Coastal protection is responsible for this, as Mayor Heike Horn said. According to experiences from recent years, the dog beach and an adjacent section of beach will probably have to be partially relocated.
On Sylt, too, frequent and long-lasting storms in the winter season have visibly affected the beaches, as Gritje Stöver from Insel Sylt Tourismus-Service GmbH said. “Years like this happen occasionally.” Every spring, the State Agency for Coastal Protection (LKN.SH) assesses how badly Sylt’s beaches are actually affected and what measures need to be taken to protect the coast during its beach tour. This year the coast guards will be on the island on Monday (March 18th). Only then will it become clearer how the situation affects the use of the beaches, said Stöver.
On the beaches of the island town of Kampen, the sand losses in this winter storm season are “absolutely within limits, the specially pre-washed sand deposits were not cleared out too much,” said Lars Lunk from the Kampen Tourism Service. There was also a long easterly wind phase, so a lot of sand was added naturally. “We still hope to get fresh sand in one place or another.”
On Amrum, major damage was not found on the beach side, but rather on the mudflat side. “The beach scenery on Amrum with ten square kilometers of Kniepsand has always been subject to a natural dynamic with accompanying changes and to a certain extent has also been storm-tested,” said Frank Timpe, Managing Director of Amrum Touristik. Amrum was also exposed to the storm surge, which washed out supply lines, but this was not unusual “and the insular communities with their construction yards are in a position to repair the damage in time for the bathing season.”
On the mudflat side, however, the storm surge between Nebel and Norddorf hit hard in some areas and caused collapses on the edge of the bank. The area can now be accessed again after a short-term closure, but work such as the introduction of leveling material has not yet been completed.
The storms also had an impact on the neighboring island of Föhr, said a spokeswoman for Föhr Tourism. The communities worked to get everything back on track for the season.
Aside from the bathing beaches, for which the island communities in Lower Saxony are responsible, the State Agency for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) has already identified a need for action to protect the coast on some islands. According to previous information from the authority, measures are expected to be taken on Langeoog and Wangerooge this year in order to strengthen protective dunes again. The storm surge season with fall and winter storms lasts from October to April.
In Schleswig-Holstein, the LKN.SH said in mid-February that the number of storm surges was in the same range as the previous season. “The damage patterns on the sandy coasts have so far been within the normal range; on the west coast we have not yet had an exceptional storm surge season.”
