Hurricane Matthew (2016) — Sebastian, Florida

Hurricane Matthew passed offshore of Sebastian on October 6 and 7, 2016, sparing homes in town but sending surge through Sebastian Inlet that wrecked lagoon docks and eroded the beaches (Sebastian Daily).

Matthew never came ashore near Sebastian, but it ran close enough along the coast on October 6 and 7, 2016 to do lasting damage on the water. Vero Beach 32963 reported that the core of the storm missed Indian River County by about 40 miles after a last-minute shift in course. On land in Sebastian, Sebastian Daily found minimal damage on the morning of October 7.

The cost showed up where the Atlantic meets the lagoon. Surge pushed through Sebastian Inlet, docks along the lagoon side of A1A between the inlet and Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge were destroyed, the Sebastian Inlet north jetty lost part of its walking surface, and the beaches east of the city lost a couple hundred thousand cubic yards of sand. That pattern, light inland and heavy along the inlet and barrier island, separates Matthew from the 2004 storms that struck the Sebastian mainland directly.

Matthew's core missed Indian River County by about 40 miles, close enough that the National Hurricane Center used Sebastian Inlet as the dividing point in its October 6 surge forecast (National Hurricane Center).

At 11 p.m. EDT on Thursday, October 6, 2016, the National Hurricane Center placed Matthew about 125 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral, moving northwest at 13 mph as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and a central pressure of 939 mb. A hurricane warning covered the coast from Boca Raton north to the South Santee River, which included all of Indian River County.

The same advisory used Sebastian Inlet as a dividing line in its storm surge forecast. North of the inlet, from Sebastian Inlet to Edisto Beach, South Carolina, water could reach 7 to 11 feet above ground at peak surge and high tide; south of it, from Boca Raton to Sebastian Inlet, the forecast was 4 to 6 feet. Sebastian sits at the hinge of those two forecast zones.

Local forecasts in the days before had swung widely. On October 3, Sebastian Daily passed on a projected track with the center passing 180 miles east of Sebastian. By October 4, Sebastian Daily reported hurricane watches from West Palm Beach to Jacksonville and an expected eye about 70 miles off the coast. The final track came much closer than either figure, which is why the inlet and beaches took the impact.

Sebastian prepared by clearing store shelves of water from October 3, 2016, and the mandatory evacuation on October 6 closed all of Sebastian Inlet State Park (Vero Beach 32963).

Preparation in Sebastian started with the stores. On Monday, October 3, 2016, Sebastian Daily reported that the widespread concern in Indian River County had emptied the shelves of water at the Walmart in Sebastian, and that all the 1-gallon containers were gone while the store restocked. The next day it reported that the Sebastian area could expect tropical force winds, possible floods and power outages, and that residents were picking up loose items in Barefoot Bay and closing shutters.

A mandatory evacuation order took effect on October 6, 2016, and it closed all of Sebastian Inlet State Park, according to Vero Beach 32963. The timing interrupted a separate plan: the Sebastian Inlet District had scheduled a nighttime closure of the north jetty to begin at sunset on October 7, and the storm arrived first. That nighttime closure never went into effect.

On October 7, 2016, Sebastian had open roads, minimal damage and scattered outages, with one-third of Indian River County still without power (Sebastian Daily).

Sebastian woke on Friday, October 7, to downed limbs and dark houses rather than wrecked ones. Sebastian Daily reported that roads were all open except one area north of Sebastian in Micco, that a power line was down near the marina, and that FPL trucks were on County Road 512 restoring power to residents off Laconia and Barber Street. One-third of Indian River County residents remained without power that day, according to the Indian River County Sheriff's Office, and there were no boil water notices for county utilities.

Vero News reported on October 9, 2016 that winds in Indian River County were sustained at 45 to 55 mph with 65 to 70 mph gusts, while seas reached 35 to 40 feet offshore and 15 to 20 feet at shore. There were no known injuries, and the county's emergency management coordinator said Indian River County was spared great catastrophic damage. The Salvation Army of Indian River County opened a food and water distribution site in Sebastian on Barber Street near the fire station south of County Road 512, and county schools reopened on Monday, October 10.

Surge entered the Indian River Lagoon through Sebastian Inlet and wind-driven waves followed, so docks on the lagoon side of A1A nearest the inlet took the worst damage (Vero Beach 32963).

The surge came in through the inlet. Vero Beach 32963 reported on October 13, 2016 that some of the worst waterside destruction was on the west side of A1A between the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Sebastian Inlet. Docks on the lagoon were smashed to kindling, boats were wedged between trees and rocks, and sections of the concrete sidewalk collapsed, threatening the roadway, which was closed part of the day Friday. County coastal engineer James Gray said the highway shoulder there was washed out by wave action and a storm surge that came in the Sebastian Inlet.

The full count took months. In January 2017, Vero Beach 32963 reported that a heavy storm surge through the Sebastian Inlet, wind-driven waves and boats blown loose from their moorings smashed docks and piers from the inlet as far south as The Moorings, causing millions of dollars in damage. Nearly all docks near the Sebastian Inlet were damaged or destroyed. Indian River County building official Scott McAdam put the average cost of docks permitted for replacement after the storm at about $22,000, and FEMA does not normally fund privately owned docks.

Matthew cost Indian River County at least $15 million, most of it beach erosion, and kept the outer 150 feet of the Sebastian Inlet north jetty closed until May 11, 2017 (WPTV).

Indian River County officials told WPTV on October 11, 2016 that Matthew would cost the county at least $15 million, with $12.9 million of that in damage to the shoreline. The county has 22 miles of coastline, and nearly 16 miles of it was classified as critically eroded before the storm. County coastal engineer James Gray estimated that a couple hundred thousand cubic yards of sand were lost from county beaches, and Golden Sands, Seagrape Trail and Tracking Station parks suffered structural damage (Vero Beach 32963). The Florida Department of Environmental Protection found that the worst 2016 damage statewide ran from Duval through Indian River Counties.

At the inlet itself, Matthew damaged 45 metal grates that form part of the walking surface of the north jetty, making the outermost 150 feet of the 745-foot structure unsafe, according to Vero Beach 32963. The Sebastian Inlet District replaced the grates at a cost of $30,000, and park personnel reopened the outer section on May 11, 2017. Federal aid ran under FEMA declaration DR-4283-FL, dated October 8, 2016, with an incident period of October 3 to 19, 2016.