South Carolina

Hurricane Dorian helped plague Myrtle Beach with big rocks

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Myrtle Beach is having a rocky relationship with its beaches.

City officials say a number of large rocks the size of bowling balls have been showing up in the sand since Hurricane Dorian passed by earlier this month.

Beach Coordinator Tod O'Briant told The Sun News the rocks were pulled out as crews drew sand from the ocean floor off the coast and pumped it on to the beach as part of a $45 million nourishment project that ended in June.

O'Briant says Dorian's waves brought more buried rocks to the surface. He says the rocks have caused $5,000 of damage to machines used to rake the sand.

O'Briant says crews pick up the rocks as they find them. He thinks all the rocks will be gone by next summer.