Myrtle Beach, S.C., is a mecca for millions of vacationers and vacation
home buyers. Duke University's Orrin Pilkey and his colleagues also think
the area is primed for huge property losses in the next big hurricane due
to its own phenomenal growth coupled with some people's propensity to build
and live where they shouldn't.
Pilkey is a professor at Duke's geology department and Nicholas School
of the Environment, as well as director of the university's Program for
the Study of Developed Shorelines. On Oct. 16-17, he and David Bush, an
assistant geology professor at the State University of West Georgia, will
hold a media briefing and subsequent tour that will point out better and
worse places to build along the Grand Strand -- and why.
They have chosen the Myrtle Beach area, a classic example of a heavily
developed shoreline, to illustrate themes in two new books and a video --
all of which will also be provided to reporters.
The video, "Living on the Edge," and one of the books, "Living
by the Rules of the Sea," provide tips to potential homeowners on building
sites to avoid, construction techniques likely to minimize storm damage,
and where to find the best sources of information about flood insurance,
evacuation routes and storm risk.
The second book, Living with the South Carolina Coast, is a revised edition
of an earlier work substantially updated with new information such as "risk
maps" of all South Carolina shoreline communities. These maps chart
the relative risk, block by block, of building on various parts of South
Carolina's system of barrier islands.
Reporters also will receive:
·Risk maps of all North Carolina barrier islands.
·Updated rankings of all North and South Carolina islands with regard
to danger.
·Risk tables for each island in both states' barrier island system.
·An overview of lessons in North Carolina from Hurricane Bertha.
·A discussion of beach nourishment as a solution to shoreline retreat
-- both nationally and in Myrtle Beach.
Pilkey and Bush will be joined by a number of other experts. Those will
include Gered Lennon, a former state coastal geologist for South Carolina,
and Paul Gayes, a coastal geologist at Coastal Carolina University.
The briefing will begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16, in the Holiday
Inn - Oceanfront at 415 South Ocean Boulevard in the heart of downtown Myrtle
Beach. On Thursday, Oct. 17, a morning tour -- guided by Pilkey, Bush, Lennon
and Gayes -- will cover approximately 25 miles of area beachfront developments.
A limited number of rooms will be available for the night of Oct 16 --
at $69.00 (cityview) and $79.00 (oceanfront) -- at the Holiday Inn-Oceanfront.
Because of substantial convention business in October, reporters should
make their reservations by Sept. 17 at the latest. To make reservations
for the "Pilkey tour," call 1-800-845-0313.