News

March 7 – ERDC-CHL researchers assess hazardous vessel wakes near Tybee Island

March 7, 2023

March 7, 2023 – Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District and the city of Tybee Island to measure vessel wakes near the island’s north shore in hopes of better understanding which ships and operating conditions are […]

Bigger ships mean bigger waves at Tybee’s beach. A recent ship wake study offers solutions

February 7, 2023

February 7th, 2023 – Tybee Island resident Joseph Yerchik was lounging on the north end beach near Polk Street when he heard his niece utter a profane expletive. When Yerchick turned around, his niece was already running up the shore. Then came the “smack” of a giant wave. “I was tumbling around in the water. […]

City of Tybee Island shares how giant ships affect the shore following case study

January 30, 2023

January 30th, 2023 Watch Recorded Broadcast Here

In Savannah, a Sea Level Summit

January 30, 2023

December 21, 2022 – In late September 2022, dozens of researchers from NASA’s Sea Level Change Team gathered in nearby Savannah for a kind of sea-level summit: a three-day exchange of data and ideas among scientists, coastal planners, federal, state, and local agencies, and resident activists. The meeting included summaries of efforts to combat sea-level […]

Waves from giant cargo ships swamp (and worry) Tybee beachgoers

January 9, 2023

Jan 9, 2023 – By Matt Kempner, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Government sleuths struggle to predict which boats will cause problems   It’s typically a relaxing beach scene on the northern stretches of Tybee Island, where the waves are often gentle and shells are plentiful. Perhaps a dozen times a day, a towering cargo ship slips by […]

Tybee lost 25 feet of shoreline to Hurricane Ian. What data tells us about beach erosion.

December 22, 2022

December 22, 2022 – Tybee lost 25 feet of shoreline to Hurricane Ian. What data tells us about beach erosion. Improved dune system mitigated some of storm’s effects. Nancy Guan Savannah Morning News Link available for Savannah Morning News subscribers here The Georgia coast had a near miss when Hurricane Ian tracked further east than […]

Tybee Island Natural Infrastructure Plan

December 15, 2022

November 15, 2022 – Tybee Island is working with UGA’s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems and Thomas & Hutton, the city’s engineering firm, to create a plan that combines natural resilience with human ingenuity to combat “sunny day” flooding through the use of green infrastructure. The proposed plan will build features on the island and […]

Researchers reveal impacts of Hurricane Ian on Tybee Island’s shoreline

November 28, 2022

November 28th, 2022 Watch the recorded broadcast here

Belle the Sea Turtle Returns to Ocean from Burton 4-H Center

September 23, 2022

September 23, 2022 – A loggerhead sea turtle named Belle has returned to her natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean. Belle was a straggler from a nest on Tybee Island, and after being rescued, she spent five years as a resident of Burton 4-H Center. Equipped with a tracking device attached to her shell to monitor […]

FEMA visits Chatham Co. for Hurricane Preparedness Briefing

June 17, 2022

June 17, 2022 – The Federal Emergency Management Agency met with lawmakers and emergency response teams within the state and Chatham County on Friday to prepare for this year’s hurricane season. Included in the visit was Tybee Island Mayor Shirley Sessions who said she appreciates lawmakers and emergency officials for recognizing the threat these storms […]

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