We’ll have to find our weekend fun elsewhere as it was just announced on Thursday afternoon that Hunting Island State Park will be closed through at least this Sunday, July 12, due to the flood. The word came from the State Park’s official Twitter page.
We will be closed at least through Sunday the 12th due to excessive flooding on our roads and parking lots. We really hope for our roads to become safe for our visitors as soon as possible.
— Hunting Island State Park (@HuntingIslandSP) July 9, 2020
Park staff had originally hoped to have the popular spot reopened by Friday, but the water is receding slowly.
The closure came after intense rains on Monday and Tuesday dumped a whopping 12 inches of rain on our sea islands in a 48 hour period, causing roads and lower-lying spots in the park to be flooded
According to park staff, the entire park will be closed due to flooding, with standing water on the roadways inside the park. The only exception of the closure will be the campground.
This certainly isn’t the first time that Hunting Island saw a flood.
The past few years haven’t been kind to everyone’s favorite local beach. Hurricane Matthew caused lots of destruction in 2016 and that was followed by Irma in 2017 and each time there are heavy rains, some of the roads in the park flood out, as does the campground.
Reports say that the roads in the park will be undergoing a major overhaul in the future and will be raised a few feet above their present height to help avoid flooding in the coming years.
Let’s hope that she dries out in time for Friday. Be prepared, it may need a few more days than expected.
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