The ocean sure put on a great show over the last week with huge swells crashing onto our beaches and headlands. 

The 5m plus waves, caused by a large low pressure system in the Tasman Sea, may have created a great spectacle and temporarily closed the walkway to Shelly Beach, but they also caused some significant erosion on our beaches. 

Your favourite beach may have been reduced by up to 20metres over the week as much of the sand was collected by the waves and dragged out beyond the surf zone. 

This is part of the natural cycle and many of beaches are already beginning to recover as the sand is naturally returned to the beach. 

Some beaches will take longer to naturally recover than others, and on those most impacted, Council will provide help to accelerate the natural recovery by undertaking beach scraping, where we move sand from the intertidal zone to higher up the beach. This will also help improve damaged access to a range of beaches including Dee Why, Narrabeen and Avalon.

The system has now moved off and conditions have returned to normal but always keep an eye on Bureau of Meteorology for warnings. If you are ever concerned about your safety or damage to your property during a storm event contact the NSW State Emergency Service.