FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Debbie McManus broke down crying when she walked onto the seashore and noticed tons of of sea turtle eggs.
“It was a shock,” she mentioned. “I didn’t anticipate to see this.”
McManus stopped by the south jetty on the Fort Pierce Inlet on the Atlantic early Thursday to see if the outer bands of Hurricane Ian had broken a plaque there for her late grandson. She was stunned by all of the trash washed up on the seashore, together with plastic and glass bottles tangled in seaweed.
“Then I appeared up and noticed (the eggs) all the way in which down the seashore,” mentioned McManus, 66. “I don’t know why it’s affecting me like this.”
Her job entails sea turtle schooling, and a lot work is completed to guard sea turtles, their nests and their eggs.
“Then you definately come out right here and see this – one thing that was simply Mom Nature,” McManus mentioned. “I simply can’t recover from it. I’ve by no means seen something like this.”
REVERSE STORM SURGE? Why did water depart Tampa Bay throughout Ian?
THE JIM CANTORE EFFECT: What it means he reveals up in your metropolis
Excessive tides, sturdy waves and powerful winds from the storm seemingly disturbed the ocean turtle nests on the seashore. Sea turtle nesting season is March by way of October.
McManus took photographs and movies on her cellphone as she wiped away tears. Small birds had began selecting on the eggs – a few of them damaged, some nonetheless intact.
“Whenever you’re in agriculture, it’s all a part of the circle of life,” McManus mentioned. “However not this. Not this.”
Laurie Ok. Blandford is TCPalm’s leisure reporter and columnist devoted to discovering the most effective issues to do on the Treasure Coast. Observe her on Twitter @TCPalmLaurie and Fb @TCPalmLaurie.
LIVE COVERAGE:Tropical Storm Ian nonetheless pounding Florida; first deaths reported
CATEGORY 5 STORMS:How does Ian evaluate to the worst storms?
