Helene damage to Port Royal boardwalk could hit $100K. Boats fill Beaufort man’s backyard

Storm surge and high winds from Tropical Storm Helene hammered Port Royal’s iconic boardwalk and beached several boats in Beaufort early Friday morning.

“It’s crazy,” said Bay Street resident Mike Milano. “There’s four boats washed up in my backyard right now.” His home is on the Beaufort River.

The high winds and surf pushed boats around like toys and several were seen on the riverbank, presumably washed there from the mooring field attached to the Beaufort Marina. The rough water also heavily damaged the public landing dock at the marina, which appeared to have snapped in one place and was underwater. Waves lapped at the promenade near the marina where windswept boats were clustered in unfamiliar territory.

To the south in Port Royal, a section of the Henry Robinson Boardwalk on Battery Creek, one of the region’s most popular destinations, was washed away in the storm.

The section between the boat landing and covered pier took the brunt of the damage, Town Administrator Van Willis said.. At 9:30 a.m., the town was in the process of shutting down Sands Beach Road, which leads to the beach and the boardwalk, to the public. “We do not need the public at risk, period,” Willis said.

“The storm ended up being a lot worse than everybody anticipated and we’ve got significant trees down everywhere,” Willis added.

Beaufort City Manager Scott Marshall said late Friday morning that tree damage in the city was significant.

“We literally had dozens of trees down across power lines or across roads,” Marshall said.

The city was assessing the damage to the dock and the marina as well, he said. Marshall counted nine boats that had broken away in the high winds and ended up on the shore.

“It’s more significant I think than any of us had anticipated,” Marshall said of damage from the storm. “Our crews will be busy for a while.”

There were a few reports of large trees falling on houses and cars, including one in the Shell Point area of Port Royal and another at the Hampton Inn on Boundary Street in Beaufort, according to the Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department.

Milano, the Beaufort resident, walked along the shoreline at around 7 a.m. to survey the beached boats. He noticed that winds knocked down a brick wall near his home and ripped shingles and siding off of his house.

The storm system, which was a Category 4 Hurricane when it made landfall in Florida, had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reached Beaufort County early Friday.

As the sun rose Friday morning, it revealed streets littered with tree branches and Spanish moss and traffic lights were dark. A Port Royal officer directed traffic at the busy intersection of Ladys Island Drive and Ribaut Road because the traffic lights were not working.

The sun was peeking through the gray clouds by late Friday morning but Beaufort County was expected to remain under a tropical storm warning until 1:15 p.m.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center said it had received dozens of reports of downed trees and power lines and advised residents to use caution when traveling.

Early Friday morning, Dominion Energy reported nearly 37,000 customers without power but electricity was being restored in some locations as the morning progressed. Palmetto Electric initially reported more than 20,000 customers without electricity.