The easternmost two miles of Alabama’s beaches are on Perdido Key. The barrier island here has a fairly low elevation and overwashes in major hurricanes. Several condominiums were severely damaged here in 1998 by Hurricane Georges.
This condominium on Perdido Key was destroyed by Hurricane
Georges.
The analysis of the air photos shows no significant trend in shoreline position on Perdido Key since 1970. There are, however, significant fluctuations, over 150 feet, in shoreline position. These fluctuations may be due to reversals in longshore sand transport direction when waves come from the southwest. The weir section (the low section) of the east jetty at Perdido Pass allows sand to move into the deposition basin inside the pass when waves come from the southeast. But when waves come from the southwest, that sand can not come back to the east. An alternative jetty design could alleviate this problem. However, this would have to be very carefully designed so that it doesn’t cause more beach erosion.