Tropical Storm Nicole displaces residents, damages already weakened coast

Thursday morning brought a lot of uncertainty for Volusia County's coastal residents as structures began to collapse or teetered on the brink amid high winds and frothing seas caused by Tropical Storm Nicole.

Some residents had to leave when county and city officials deemed their domiciles unsafe.

Video, photos and social media posts showed that Tropical Storm Nicole further chewed away a coastline that was already severely depleted by Tropical Storm Ian.

A video from the Weather Channel showed the patio collapsing into the ocean at the Pirates Cove condo in Daytona Beach Shores, and Weather Channel celebrity Jim Cantore reported live from Daytona Beach Shores on Wednesday night and Thursday.

A curfew that expired at 7 a.m. Thursday was extended a few hours later for areas east of the Intracoastal Waterway as county officials assessed the damage along the coast. It was set to expire 7 a.m. Friday.

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After a mandatory evacuation on Wednesday of vulnerable areas, about 200 people took refuge in one of the county's shelters.

The county saw no storm-related deaths and only one storm-related injury involving a tree and a vehicle, county spokesman Kevin Captain said. And over 34,000 homes and businesses in Volusia County experienced a power outage.

The Daytona Beach International Airport received no significant damage and is expected to reopen Friday, Captain said.

Hazards, rough conditions remain in Volusia after brunt of Tropical Storm Nicole

Bridges briefly reopened on Thursday, but Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood closed bridges again to keep people from visiting the beaches. Beach residents who have to go back to their properties can as long as their properties haven't been deemed unsafe, but officials urged people to just stay out of the area.

"Even though the storm has left our area, danger still lurks in Volusia County," Captain said.

At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, officials stressed that people should stay off the beaches.

Even though there's not a storm present or even at low tide, piers, walkways and other structures could collapse, said Tammy Malphurs, Volusia County's deputy chief of beach safety and ocean rescue. Officials haven't had a chance to inspect them.

"At this time the beach is the most dangerous place to be in the county," Malphurs said.

Thursday afternoon, the county was still seeing wind speeds of 20-25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph, Volusia County's Interim Director of Emergency Management Jim Judge said at the press conference. Officials expected another 1/2 inch of rain in the county, and flooding along the coast and St. Johns River was still expected.

For some, a return date is unclear

Government officials evacuated people from Pirates Cove and several other residential complexes on Wednesday.

There are dozens of unsafe structures along the coast, it's not clear yet when people will be able to return to them, Captain said. An estimate on how many people have been displaced wasn't immediately available.

Government officials are still assessing the damage along the coast and working on getting certified inspectors and structural engineers check to see if structures are safe, Volusia County Growth and Resource Management Director Clay Ervin said Thursday afternoon.

"This is not a quick process," he said. 'We're doing the best we can to get folks over there right now. As I'm speaking, I know that Daytona Beach Shores, Daytona Beach, Volusia County and others are conducting these site-by-site inspections to ensure that the buildings themselves are safe. The critical aspect is that you may drive by this on A1A and it may look like it's safe and sound. But unfortunately, we're not seeing what's happening from the oceanside."

A building with older construction might not meet current standards, which means some buildings could have "a great deal of damage that is not visible to the eye," he said.

"There will be this preliminary analysis where we will be going in and documenting what we see and allowing for those who can return to return," Ervin said. "Those, however, who are not able to, we will work with them to address their sheltering needs in the future. Other than that right now, we're just going to have to just go through and get all the data and get all the information available so that we can make the necessary decisions for the safety of the public."

People with questions about their properties or other storm-related questions can call the county's Citizens Information Center at 866-345-0345.

'They lost their whole backyard'

Daytona Beach Chief Building Official Glen Urquhart spent Thursday morning driving around the beachside between Bellair Plaza and Dunlawton Avenue.

Damage appeared to be relatively minor in most areas, with small pieces of roofing, signs, palm fronds and leaves scattered around. Piles of storm debris from Tropical Storm Ian managed to stay intact.

"There's mostly windborne debris," Urquhart said. 

The oceanfront, however, was a different story. A section of the dunes in Daytona Beach lost another 30 feet since yesterday, he said.

A home at 2404 N. Atlantic Ave. has lost the entire dune behind the house, and it's teetering.

"They lost their whole backyard," Urquhart said. "Luckily no one was staying there."

A condominium building at 2800 N. Atlantic called The Towers had water gushing into its parking garage and was evacuated Wednesday, he said. It also lost most of the dune behind the building.

Other waterfront properties are probably in the same precarious situation, but the ocean is still up to seawalls and dune lines, so there's no way for him to inspect until the storm surge calms down and drops, he said.

"We can't access the beach. There is no beach to get on, so there's no way to see the backs of buildings," he said. "Tomorrow we'll do a more thorough assessment."

He said all beach approaches in Daytona Beach are also flooded and inaccessible.

The worst flooding in Daytona Beach appeared to be centered around Beach Street and South Palmetto Avenue. The neighborhoods east of Nova Road, including Midtown, had minor water accumulation and mainly had downed leaves and small branches.

Just east of Beach Street, the Halifax River came up over the eastern tip of Orange Avenue around the City Island Recreation Center and Daytona Beach Chamber of Commerce building. The water was at least a foot or two high, and a boat got pushed up onto the ramp behind the rec center.

Much of Beach Street was also under water Thursday morning and afternoon. The city's new high-water rescue vehicle that just arrived this week was seen driving down Beach Street south of International Speedway Boulevard late Thursday morning.

The high-water vehicle has 48-inch tires and rear steps for passengers to climb on board. It can operate in more than eight feet of water and carry up to 25 passengers.

The wind has also been an issue.

"We tried to check the sea wall, but there were 40-50 mph gusts and it was hard to walk," he said.

He wanted to launch a drone to look around, but the device would blow away since it's only rated to operate in winds up to 20 mph, he said.

The Daytona Beach Boardwalk has also been undermined. There's a large square piece that's been washed out by the storm surge getting underneath and pulling out the sand, he said.

Stairways from the boardwalk down to the ocean are also missing sections or completely washed away, he said.

The Daytona Beach Pier at the eastern tip of Main Street is still standing after taking thrashings from both Tropical Storm Ian and Tropical Storm Nicole.

The nearly 100-year-old pier will be evaluated more thoroughly in the next several days, city officials said Thursday.

A section of Daytona Beach's Boardwalk north of the bandshell was badly damaged. The concrete was broken into smaller chunks by unrelenting storm surge and multiple high tides.

The city did an initial assessment of the boardwalk but will need to evaluate the damage again once the tide recedes. The city's Public Works director will prepare several options for shoring up the area.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Tropical Storm Nicole damages dozens of buildings on the coast