To safeguard its coastlines and make the U.S. territory more storm-resistant in the future, the U.S. Virgin Islands will soon construct its very first artificial reef, authorities said on Thursday.
The department of planning and natural resources on the islands estimates that the installation of the 18-by-12-foot reef, which will be situated close to the coast at St. Thomas, will be finished by July.
The University of the Virgin Islands will get above $760,000 in federal funding for the project, which was given to it after hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the U.S. territory in 2017.