ASSATEAGUE ISLAND – A barrage of rain and wind pounded the Maryland coastline last weekend in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, causing officials in Assateague to close certain areas of the park, according to Liz Davis, chief of interpretation and education for Assateague Island National Seashore.
Beaches in both the Maryland and Virginia districts of the park experienced overwash and flooding, as a culmination of rain and high tides pushed debris and water from the beach inland.
Over a five-day stretch, Assateague Island received between five and eight inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
In the Maryland district, officials closed Over Sand Vehicle zones and flooded campsites. Many campers were moved to other locations, and some left altogether.
“Many campers left Friday night and Saturday morning,” Davis said. “Most of sites started to flood on Sunday as the rainfall continued.”
In the Virginia district, officials closed both the Toms Cove Visitor Center and the Herbert H. Bateman Educational Center and OSV zones for hazardous conditions.
“This was primarily due to local flooding due to rainfall and inaccessible roads for staff to safely drive into work,” Davis said.
The island’s OSV zones and centers have since reopened, and all staff returned to work. But Davis said some campsites are still flooded.
“We are still dealing with flooded sites, as conditions are not drying out as fast as we’d hoped,” Davis said.
If conditions do not improve by Friday, officials will be forced to close some sites for the upcoming weekend.
When meteorologists predicted Matthew’s path to directly affect Assateague, Davis said officials consulted the Hurricane and Coastal Storm Plan. Workers made preparations to secure buildings and plan evacuation routes in the event of a direct hit.
When the forecast changed, however, officials had no plans to remove any visitors.
“As the storm turned and the forecast changed, our plans changed accordingly,” Davis said. “We did not evacuate staff, campers or visitors from the park. The weather did not make for a very nice holiday weekend, though.”
Assateague Island’s 37 miles of coastline had minimal damage overall and official at Maryland’s Assateague Island National Seashore and their Virginia counterparts at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge are continuing to monitor the situation.
Officials at the refuge urged hikers on their website to take caution when exploring the flooded trails and to check the website for OSV zone openings.
High tides expected to roll into the area Oct. 14 may cause these zones to close once again before the weekend starts.
Conditions along Assateague’s Maryland district fared better than some of their Worcester County counterparts. Some parts of the county still saw road closures as of Tuesday afternoon.
“We did experience significant rainfall and windy conditions,” Davis said. “Fortunately, we don’t have any major damage to report.”
