The harbour area in Lossiemouth was slowly being returned to normal on Thursday after several high tides and wreaked further damage.
Workmen from local building firm Souter and Sons have been working flat-out to remove rubble ripped up from paving along the sea front and strewn around the area.
Sea foam also made the entire harbour and beach areas look like a Christmas snow scene at times – but with the tidal surge receding people in the town are breathing easily in the knowledge that the damage could have been much worse.
The man in charge of the building firm helping to clear up the damage is warning that the lower reaches of Lossiemouth can only take so much with the man-made sand dunes depleted to a dangerous level.
Building firm owner Ian Souter said: “What really needs to be addressed is the east beach and the sand dunes there.
“I would obviously cost a lot of money but they need to be rebuilt – otherwise Seatown is going to be in trouble. While he was still alive my grandfather would tell me about the sand dunes and how they were man-made to stop water hitting Seatown.
“Now every time we get a serious sea there’s more and more damage done to the beach. If we have another three spells like we saw the other day then you can say goodbye to your beach.
“I think a compromise of spending a bit on protecting the town now will save money in the long run – there are 60 houses in Seatown, if you value them at £100,000 each that is £6million that would be lost.”