Oak Island Pier reopens despite hurricane damage

OAK ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — The Oak Island Pier has reopened just days after it was damaged in Hurricane Matthew.

Waves churned up by Matthew knocked off the end of the pier Saturday morning and damaged some of the remaining sections of the pier. Huge pieces of the pier washed up on the beach about a mile away.

The Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce says the remaining section of the pier reopened today for fishing and viewing.

Town spokesman Kyle Thomas told WWAY they are still assessing damage to homes on the island as well as the pier, but they do have engineers and divers working on the pier.

Thomas says the island suffered major damage to its dunes. He said the Army Corps of Engineers was assessing that damage today.