'Living Shorelines' Stood Up To Hurricane Idalia On Cedar Key, Florida

'Living Shoreline' Reduced Hurricane Damage

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Scientists from the University of Florida spotted something as The Weather Channel showed footage from Cedar Key, Florida, in the days after Hurricane Idalia pushed nearly 9 feet of storm surge on shore there on Aug. 30.

It was a glimpse of three "living shoreline" projects developed on the barrier island to protect against just this kind of scenario.

To make a l​iving shoreline, certain types of vegetation are planted and structures put into place that might attract oysters or other sea life. The plants and structures hold in soil and sand and absorb shock from incoming waves.

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The living shorelines on Cedar Key, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida's Big Bend region, were installed over the years since Hurricane Hermine hit the area in 2016.

"The projects were inspired by local leaders reaching out to our team at the University of Florida to get more information about nature-based approaches to address severe erosion they were experiencing on several of their shorelines," Savanna Barry, a University of Florida extension agent and one of the projects' leaders, told weather.com.

I​dalia was their first big test.

W​hat Happened When Hurricane Idalia Hit Cedar Key?

The hurricane made landfall about 90 miles north of Cedar Key, passing directly by the island in the process. It was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in that part of Florida since 1950. The storm hovered over the Big Bend for about four hours.

The TV aftermath video showed Barry and her colleague Mark Clark, a UF assistant professor in soil, water, and ecosystem sciences, that their living shorelines were still intact.

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Data collected from wave gauges at the sites and other equipment confirmed that they did exactly what they were supposed to do - and then some.

T​he total budget to install the living shorelines was about $500,000 not including volunteer time, Barry said.

L​iving Shorelines Have Other Advantages, Too

Barry said living shorelines aren't appropriate for every location and must be designed properly to be successful. In places where they are feasible, Barry said there are several benefits of installing them over seawalls and other hardscaping. They include:

-Building up shoreline rather than just holding it in place

-Less cost per linear foot to install

-Lower maintenance costs (and they get stronger in time as they grow, while seawalls degrade)

-Ability to adapt to sea-level rise where conditions allow

-Environmental benefits such as contributing to better water quality, providing habitat for birds and fish, and capturing carbon

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Areas of the living shoreline that were damaged began to rebound very quickly after the storm, another thing that seawalls and other hardened structures can't do.

“Mangroves, saltmarsh grasses, and even oyster beds offshore stood in the living shorelines between the Gulf of Mexico and communities on land," weather.com meteorologist Kait Parker said. “This research shows that natural defenses may still be our best bet for storm protection.”

Weather.com reporter Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives.