Ellington

PASS CHRISTIAN (AP) — Mayor Chipper McDermott stood on the porch of his fortress-like city complex and watched the waves churn the sand across U.S. 90.

There was flooding all over town of 4,600, but the most expensive damage might be out in the Mississippi Sound. A contractor had been dredging sand for Pass Christian to expand its municipal boat harbor. But as day broke Wednesday, it became clear that the big piles of sand piled up by that $5 million operation were melting away under the pounding of Hurricane Isaac's waves.

"I hope to Christ it doesn't silt back in," said McDermott, both amiable and easily agitated.

The $33 million expansion is being paid for with federal and BP money, and is supposed to provide a new place for commercial seafood boats to unload. McDermott and other Pass Christian leaders hope it will expand tourism in a largely residential town plastered by both Hurricane Camille and Hurricane Katrina.

The sand piles were meant to be a foundation for the harbor's parking lot. A contractor had left heavy equipment on top of one of the largest piles, and as the morning wore on, a large crane began to pitch over.

In the existing harbor, a boat broke loose just after 7 a.m. and crashed into the road leading to a waterfront restaurant, letting McDermott reprise his rant against boat owners who disobeyed orders to get their craft out of the harbor.

"We got a sailboat that just broke loose," McDermott fumed, "an expensive one, the SOB."

Sections of what appeared to be dock washed to the east with the current and the gazebo on the city fishing pier vanished during the night. Boards floated at the seawall.

The U.S. Geological Survey agrees that there's a lot of sand moving around. It estimates that 89 percent of the frontage of Mississippi's beaches and barrier islands will experience erosion because of Isaac.

Elsewhere on the Mississippi coast, a wall facing tumbled off Mary Mahoney's restaurant in downtown Biloxi, in one of the rare examples of obvious damage. Most other problems were hidden to the naked eye, though there are probably plenty of roof leaks after 12 hours or more of wind and diagonal rain sheets. Plus, businesses may be able to claim insurance to cover the cost of interrupted business.

Hurricane modeling firm Eqecat estimates insured damages onshore in the U.S. will cost between $500 million and $1.5 billion. Shutdowns of offshore oil and gas platforms will also carry costs to the economy.