Featured Image Credit: Volusia Beach Safety
Topics: US News
Jess Hardiman
A mysterious structure is starting to appear on a Florida beach, leaving social media users - and authorities - baffled.
The 80ft object was found on Daytona Beach Shores in Volusia County, Florida, having first been spotted by beachgoers earlier this year after Hurricanes Ian and Nicole created unprecedented levels of erosion in the area.
The structure appears to be made from wood and metal, but its purpose is yet to be figured out.
Volusia Beach Safety Deputy Chief Tammy Malphurs told WKMG that erosion on the beach has been ‘unprecedented’ in the wake of recent weather events.
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"We haven't seen this kind of erosion in a very long time," she said.
"I've been on the beach probably 25 years and that's the first time I've seen it exposed."
Malphurs added of the structure: "We're not sure what it is."
Many people have had a stab at speculating what it could be, with one Facebook commenter suggesting it might be a shipwreck.
"I saw that a few days ago,” they said.
“It is probably an old ship that was shipwrecked. Very interesting.”
But some others believe it could actually be part of an old pier or dock.
Writing underneath a news article from Click Orlando, someone said: "Too straight and narrow for a boat [in my opinion]. I think it's old dock or boardwalk.”
A story from the Independent also raises further possible explanations, including ‘spectator seating from old NASCAR races’, as NASCAR held some of its events on Daytona Beach.
The outlet adds that another ‘very real possibility’ is a groyne, a structure used to prevent beach erosion by interrupting water flow and limiting sediment movement, usually made from wood, concrete or stone.
Category 4 Hurricane Ian hit Florida in September, before Category 1 Nicole made landfall in November.
Together, the hurricanes caused widespread damage to the state, with Gov. Ron De Santis saying at the time that Nicole may not be as significant as her earlier counterpart, but would still make an impact.
"This is obviously not as significant storm as Hurricane Ian was, but coming on the heels of that, you're seeing communities, particularly in the Volusia County area, that had a lot of that erosion on the coastline," DeSantis said during a press conference.
"This has put some of those structures in jeopardy, and they've been working very hard to make sure everybody's safe."