The head of Atlantic Beach's Sun & Surf Beach Club hopes to reopen this season as tornado cleanup continues
The aftermath of the tornado that hit the Sun & Surf Beach Club in Atlantic Beach Thursday evening. Cleanup and repairs are ongoing, the club's president said Saturday afternoon. Credit: James Staubitser
The recovery effort at Sun & Surf Beach Club in Atlantic Beach is trudging forward as a crew of workers continues to remove debris left behind by a tornado that touched down Thursday night, the club’s president said.
National Weather Service officials said a waterspout — a column of rapidly-spinning water and air — turned into an EF1 tornado and ripped a path through a section of the club’s cabanas. The EF1 classification puts the storm on the second of six levels of the Enhanced Fujita Scale, meaning it blew gusts topping out around 97 mph, according to the agency.
Surf & Sun Beach Club president Bill Baumert said workers continue to remove large, fractured pieces of cabanas that were torn apart by the storm. Once the area is cleared and officials are “100% sure we are safe,” he said he will consider if the club can cordon off a section to allow for a reopening.
“It’s my sincere belief and hope that I’ll at least have a portion of the club open to the end of the season,” Baumert said in a phone interview Saturday afternoon.
Around 50 of the club’s 360 cabanas were damaged in the storm, and the tornado flung beach chairs, toys and other belongings of its members. Some families sheltered at the club while the tornado peeled off the roofs of the cabanas, Newsday reported.
Once the area is secured, Baumert said the club will let members come in to take out their personal items.
Baumert said despite the damage, most of the club was untouched by the tornado.
“It comes down, lands one spot, and then 200 feet away another spot,” he said. “It’s just like giant walking across the model of the city and where the footprints landed is what I got right now.”
He said he hopes construction materials for repairs will be delivered next week. Factors like weather could delay the construction.
The tornado "resulted in an approximately 0.36 miles long by 100 yard wide path of moderate to major damage," the weather service said.
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