Tampa Bay-area beaches serve many purposes. A fun place to spend a day soaking in the sun or a home to sea turtle nests and a wide variety of seabird species. It's tourism that is driving and positively impacting the economy. The most important function the beaches serve is likely one most don't think about – our beaches are a barrier of protection when storms pass through. The sand and the dunes protect inland infrastructure from flooding and devastation when severe weather approaches. Hurricane Idalia showed the importance of having enough sand on the beach. Every Pinellas County beach lost a significant amount of sand as the king tide and storm surge pushed waves further and further in. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/tech/science/environment/pinellas-county-repair-eroded-shoreline/67-59d0ad08-6b6e-4da6-879f-6f3badbdb669 ►Subscribe: https://on.wtsp.com/youtube ►Website: https://www.wtsp.com/ ►Facebook: https://facebook.com/10TampaBay ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/10TampaBay