Beach on German island almost washed away in storm

The North Sea German island of Wangerooge lost about 90% of its bathing beach during a powerful storm that hit during the night, reported dpa.

"There is hardly any sand left over a length of 1 kilometre," Wangerooge Mayor Marcel Fangohr said early on Saturday.

The protective dunes in front of the drinking water protection area no longer had a protecting barricade, which had to be filled in again, just like the beach.

Nevertheless, the storm had not caused any serious damage.

The water level was about 2 metres above normal, which is far from the highest levels, Fangohr explained: In 2013, the water level was 9.17 metres; early Saturday it was 8.50 metres.

It was lucky that the strong wind came from the west rather than the north-west, the mayor said.

Beside the washed away beach, bins toppled over, a satellite dish flew off a roof and fences fell down. "We were lucky," he said.

It will take at least six weeks to resurface the beach, Fangohr said.

The sand for it comes from a sandbank off the island. After the previous storms, about 60% of the beach had been washed away, and now there was no sand left at all in places.