The state Department of Environmental Protection Monday granted Edgartown emergency authorization to dredge Katama Bay, clearing the way for a project intended to help restore the storm-battered South Beach.

Declaring a state of emergency expedites the permitting process to dredge and restore sand in the area and opens the town to additional sources of funding and reimbursement from the Massachusetts emergency management agency (MEMA).

A strong storm with winds of 50 miles per hour hit the Vineyard Tuesday night, causing erosion, destructive washovers and scattered power outages throughout the Island. 

After the tinsel and lights have been put back into storage, Christmas trees on the Island are getting a second calling.

Although initial cleanup efforts of the Dec. 18 storm have been completed, towns still face hard decisions as erosion continues to eat away at the edges of the Island.

The high winds and surf from Monday’s storm exacted a heavy toll on the Vineyard’s south shore, tearing several new breaches, eroding dunes and creating a sinkhole on Atlantic Drive in Edgartown

A trio of shark sightings near South Beach has pulled swimmers out of the water over the last few days.

Gusty winds blew across the Atlantic ocean Tuesday evening when some 20 Islanders gathered at the left fork of South Beach. A newly restored dune about 14 feet high obscured any view of the ocean from the road.

A major dune restoration project is well under way at Norton Point and South Beach in Edgartown, with tons of trucked-in sand being used to rebuild the badly eroded beachfront.