ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A local state of emergency has been declared for the Porpoise Point neighborhood in St. Johns County.
Waves from the nor'easter and extra high tides from the full moon pushed ocean water into the Porpoise Point neighborhood. It washed in at the eastern end of Porpoise Point Drive.
"The ocean was about to swallow Porpoise Point," Elliot Palevsky said. He lives at the end of the road, "and about to swallow our home of 30 something years."
At the end of his road, there used to be a berm which blocked the beach from the road. But this week's nor'easter broke through that berm.
When ocean water breached that berm, ocean water just washed onto the road, about 150 feet into the neighborhood.
The water flowed down the street in from on Palevsky's home.
St. Johns County Asst. Public Works Director Greg Caldwell said, "Tuesday and Wednesday mornings were the worst of it."
The St. Johns County Commission declared a local state of emergency Tuesday, which allowed county crews to bring in concrete to shore up the end of the road.
The concern was that if something wasn't done to block the water, the neighborhood could be badly damaged. The county was worried about its "road system, drainage structures and anything else in the right of way," Caldwell said. And the power lines are in the right of way.
The rough waves also damaged Palevsky's barrier wall.
"My wife and I were kind of afraid to go to bed to see if we're still going to be standing," he said.
Days later, the high tides aren't so extreme, the stronger barrier seems to be working and Palevsky's house is fine, but his seawall needs work.
Caldwell said the county has 60 days to work with the State Department of Environmental Protection to come up with an intermediate solution for the end of the road.
"The Army Corps of Engineers will come next week to survey the inlet to see if there's any dredged material that can be dredged and placed on this site," Caldwell said.
Porpoise Point has seen rapid erosion, just in the two-and-a-half years since Hurricane Matthew.
But for 30 years, it's been Palvesky's home and he will see if he can afford to protect it while waiting to see what the future holds.
"It is a lovely place to be," he said.