Storm surge and heavy rain wash out canal banks, expose burrows, and scatter iguanas. Here's what waterfront owners should check before and after a storm.
Hurricane season and iguana season overlap in Palm Beach County, and the two make each other worse. A storm doesn't just soak your yard — it reshapes the canal banks and seawall backfill iguanas live in, and it can turn a manageable burrow network into a real erosion problem overnight. If you're on the water, iguanas belong on your storm-prep list next to the shutters.
This isn't storm-safety advice for people — follow official guidance for that. It's the narrow slice of hurricane prep that has to do with the animals in your bank and the damage they've already started.
What a storm does to a burrowed bank
A seawall or canal bank that's already honeycombed with iguana burrows is compromised going into a storm. Storm surge and heavy rain drive water into and through those tunnels, accelerating the erosion that was already underway. Backfill that was slowly migrating out from behind the cap can wash out in a single event, and hairline cracks can open into real ones.
In other words, the burrows are a pre-existing weakness the storm exploits. A bank that might have held for another season can slump in a day if the tunnels give the water a path.
Before the storm
The highest-value pre-storm move is knowing the state of your bank — and ideally having collapsed the active burrows before the water arrives. If there's time, a walk of the seawall and canal edge to spot fresh diggings and soft spots tells you where the vulnerability is.
It's also worth securing the yard so loose material doesn't end up in the water, and knowing that iguanas will shelter and scatter during a storm — you may see them in odd places, including inside screen cages, once it passes.
- Check the seawall and canal bank for burrows and soft, sunken spots.
- Collapse and pack active burrows so surge can't scour through them.
- Note where pilings and rip-rap give climb routes onto the roof or dock.
After the storm
The post-storm walk is the important one. Surge and rain often expose new burrows, open old ones, and wash out sections of bank, so the picture can look very different than it did the week before. This is also when displaced iguanas turn up — on debris piles, in pool cages, in spots they don't normally use — as they resettle.
Getting the newly exposed burrows collapsed and packed promptly keeps the next rain from widening the damage, and clearing the displaced animals before they re-establish stops a scattered population from becoming a settled one again.
Rolling it into a program
For waterfront and canal-front owners, this is one more argument for ongoing control rather than one-off calls. A monitored program from $99 a month means someone already knows your bank and can do the post-storm walk and re-pack as part of the cadence, rather than you starting from scratch after every system. Single visits start at $125 if you want a one-time post-storm assessment and clear-out.
Questions we hear
Do hurricanes make iguana damage worse?
Yes, on a burrowed bank. Storm surge and heavy rain drive water through existing burrows and accelerate the erosion, so a seawall or canal bank that's honeycombed can slump in a single storm where it might otherwise have held another season. Collapsing burrows before the storm is the mitigation.
What should I check after a storm?
Walk the seawall and canal bank for newly exposed or opened burrows and washed-out sections, and watch for displaced iguanas in odd spots like pool cages and debris piles. Getting the fresh burrows packed and the scattered animals cleared promptly keeps the damage from widening.
Where do iguanas go during a hurricane?
They shelter and scatter — into burrows, dense vegetation, and any cover they can find — and you'll often see them in unusual places once it passes as they resettle. Handle any dead ones with gloves, since carcasses and droppings can carry salmonella.
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