(REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.)- Storm Jonas took a toll on the beach in Rehoboth Beach.
"The biggest disaster at the beach and I have been living here for 15 years" said Ken Catterton.
Most of the damage was secluded to the last block of the Boardwalk on the North side. On the North side the storm took away the entire dune.
"These dunes were probably 10 feet tall and about 40 feet in width. Now, they're spread out all over the Boardwalk," said Catterton.
According to Delaware's Senator Tom Carper (D) the dunes saved Rehoboth from storm Jonas:
"We've invested in this- it's paid off. We're going to spend money on the dunes and that's a lot better than spending money to replace all of these buildings, the hotels, the restaurants and the roads" said Senator Carper.
Senator Carper stated on Monday that it is too soon to quantify the cost of the damage but he knows it will be in the millions. Carper anticipates federal funding will assist with the repairs.
DNREC's shoreline and waterway expert, Tony Pratt, said the last time Rehoboth Beach was replenished was in 2005.
"Over the course of a number of years, it's had some erosion and we maintained it but this storm took out what was left of this dune," Pratt explained.
Pratts main concern, is when will the next storm hit? Because the boardwalk right now is vulnerable.
"When sand is brought back into the water over the next couple of weeks, we will start to bring out bulldozers and try to provide as much of a barrier here as possible," Pratt explained.
DNREC hopes to have the entire boardwalk cleared of sand by the end of this week.