The damage was caused by Tuesday's combination of low barometric pressure, high tides and strong southwesterly wind, which drove waves over the Portobello Rd seawall.
The Otago Daily Times visited yesterday and found rock, mud, bits of wood and plantings blasted across the shared pathway for cyclists and pedestrians, concealing it in places.
The damage, which meant pedestrians and cyclists were forced on to the road, was worst near Macandrew Bay, and appeared more serious than the last time gales lashed the area on May 12.
On that occasion, strong winds were enough to drive waves over the seawall, also stripping plantings and backfill from behind the seawall and lofting debris across the cycleway.
Council road maintenance engineer Peter Standring said damage on Tuesday was from a different sort of weather event than in May, but the area's exposure meant "we're always going to get things happening".
"When you get all those things happening at the same time, you're going to get a bad result."
Maintenance contractors prioritised work to ensure the road was passable for vehicles, meaning work on the pathway could be "knocked down the rankings a bit", he said.
It was hoped work on the pathway would begin late yesterday, and continue into the evening, but it could take several days before the work was completed, he said.
Repairs were expected to cost "tens of thousands" of dollars and be paid for by the council, as the damage was outside normal maintenance, he said.
In the long-term, placing extra objects in the water to disperse the power of waves before they struck the seawall was "certainly one of the things being looked at", he said.
"We need to balance it up against funding and the actual likelihood of it happening."
The idea was first mentioned by council projects engineer Evan Matheson following May's storm damage, and was to be given more consideration over the next six months.
