PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Tropical Storm Eta did more damage to our area than you might think.

Dr. John Bishop, Pinellas County’s Coastal Management Coordinator said the storm caused substantial erosion to area beaches, especially on Pass-A-Grille Beach.

“The shoreline is further back than I have seen since I’ve been here,” Bishop said.

Bishop estimates that 500,000 cubic yards of sand were lost.  

“A lot of the beach berm that we constructed in the re-nourishment project is gone,” Bishop said. “And you can see the low sloping profile to the beach now.”

Officials said some Sunset Beach in Treasure Island also sustained erosion as a result of Eta’s winds.

Fortunately Pass-A-Grille is scheduled for beach re-nourishment in 2023, but many other beaches will have to wait. 

“The rest of our beaches were just nourished in 2018 and they’re either on four or six year cycles,” Bishop said. “So Treasure Island might be coming up maybe 2023.

“But this kind of damage might move things up a little faster.”

Bay News 9 Reporter Angie Angers contributed to this report.