SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. - A few days out from the storm, DNREC says erosion can be found along the Atlantic and Delaware Bay coastlines. In Rehoboth Beach, every dune crossing from Rehoboth Avenue northward is closed. In Bethany Beach, beach access is also closed.
Beaches along the coast are seeing steep drop-offs, broken fences, and missing beaches, just three weeks before the summer season starts.
"We've seen some significant erosion in Bethany, South Bethany, Rehoboth Beach, Broadkill Beach, Lewes, and some of the state parks," said Jesse Hayden, DNREC's Shoreline and Waterway Management Section Administrator.
Work has already begun at the Indian River inlet, with dump trucks bringing in loads of sand.
DNREC is in charge of cleaning up the coast, which includes cleaning debris and restoring safe access to the dune crossovers.
"The wind is still strong out of the northeast, the conditions are still pretty rough. It's not yet safe to do a large-scale clean-up effort, we are still assessing damages. We will be all week most likely," said Hayden.
Rehoboth Beach Director of Public Works Kevin Williams says they got permission from the agency to do some of their own clean-up work in Rehoboth.
"First we will try to get the debris up from the beach, so we do have guys that are able to do that so a lot of the fencing that has been torn down from the water, and the wind we're policing some of that up," said Williams.
DNREC says clean-up will take a couple of weeks.
"We will do whatever support we can to help get the beach safe in the process," said Williams.
"We are going to restore that to the best of our ability ahead of Memorial Day weekend so people can still enjoy a safe and happy weekend on the beach," said Hayden.
DNREC says they may not get everything done in time for Memorial Day. Hayden says they have a small team and a lot of damage.