Homes Seen Toppled Into Ocean, Streets Flooded After Tropical Storm Nicole
Mere weeks after Hurricane Ian hit Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm, the state’s still-recovering east coast was again seen getting hammered Thursday, with Tropical Storm Nicole washing out local infrastructure, beaches and prompting mass evacuations.
Video and photos posted on social media show beachfront homes and buildings crashing into the Atlantic Ocean along Volusia County’s already fragile shoreline, in some places exposing living rooms and bedrooms and leaving the remains of in-ground swimming pools dangling over the waves.
The destruction falls in line with advance warnings from local officials who cautioned that the area had yet to recover from Hurricane Ian, which hit the state’s southwest coast on Sept. 28 before moving diagonally across the state.
Remnants of homes are seen after Tropical Storm Nicole washed through Florida's east coast on Thursday, initially as a Category 1 storm. (Photo: John Raoux via Associated Press)
“There are dozens upon dozens of buildings that have been declared structurally unsafe here along the beach in Volusia County,” Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Wednesday while urging residents to evacuate ahead of Nicole.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday acknowledged that Nicole, which initially made landfall as a Category 1 storm, was not as powerful as Ian but that the area it was hitting was extremely fragile.
“This is obviously not as significant of a storm as Hurricane Ian was, but, coming on the heels of that, you’re seeing communities, particularly in the Volusia County area where you had a lot of that erosion on the coastline, this has put some of those structures in jeopardy,” he said.
Check out some of the photos and videos below:
More collapsed homes from Daytona Beach Shores. #HurricaneNicole#FlWx#beacherosionpic.twitter.com/iwjOAJPNK5
— WxChasing- Brandon Clement (@bclemms) November 10, 2022
People walk by a damaged boardwalk in Vero Beach, Florida, on Thursday. (Photo: Ricardo Arduengo via Reuters)
Devastating. This is inside another home in Wilbur-By-The-Sea on S. Atlantic Ave. that crumbled into the Atlantic Ocean. @WFTVpic.twitter.com/619mlhfuDP
— Christy Turner (@CTurnerWFTV) November 10, 2022
People visit the beach to investigate storm damage, including a lifeguard station that was displaced onto a dune, on Thursday in Vero Beach. (Photo: Rebecca Blackwell via Associated Press)
More damage and flooding from Daytona Beach, FL as Tropical Storm Nicole pushes through. Please stay safe today and do not drive through flooded or barricaded roadways. pic.twitter.com/XftZ20B5dz
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) November 10, 2022
Parts of homes are seen collapsing on the beach due to the storm surge Thursday. (Photo: John Raoux via Associated Press)
Patio of Pirates Cove buckling in Daytona Beach Shores, FL where #Nicole is causing structures to collapse into the ocean that were already battered and bruised by #HurricaneIan. Live w/ @JimCantore and @TheMattSaffer on @weatherchannelpic.twitter.com/3qttL44xim
— Steve Petyerak (@StevePetyerak) November 10, 2022
Part of Anglin's Fishing Pier is shown after it collapsed into the ocean on Thursday in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida. (Photo: via Associated Press)
Drone footage from our field correspondent @bclemms shows the extent of the coastal erosion in Daytona Beach, Florida. A reminder that a tropical storm or low-end hurricane can create massive damage. pic.twitter.com/njBnt37BGe
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) November 10, 2022
More drone footage shows the extent and power of the coastal erosion in Florida - this concrete pool was snapped in half when the sand below it washed away #FLwx#Nicolepic.twitter.com/7GapYvhX6P
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) November 10, 2022
Flood water surrounds a building in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Thursday. Nicole came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane before downgrading. (Photo: Joe Raedle via Getty Images)
And more on other side. At least 5 to 6 homes gone pic.twitter.com/5gycxw3X8P
— claire metz (@clairemetzwesh) November 10, 2022
Members of the Daytona Beach Fire Department walk through flood water searching for people that may need help on Thursday in Daytona Beach. (Photo: Joe Raedle via Getty Images)
A man walks through flood water that surrounds his home in Daytona Beach on Thursday. (Photo: Joe Raedle via Getty Images)
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.