A man and a woman have died after being electrocuted at an intersection, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said. “We urge all our residents and visitors to take extra care if they are outside after the storm today,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook. “Never touch a damaged power cord. If you are driving and see a damaged power cord, change directions immediately.” Nicole sent scores of homes tumbling into the Atlantic Ocean and threatened a string of apartment buildings in places where Hurricane Ian washed away seawalls and other remaining protective measures just weeks ago.
“Many coastal homes in Wilbur-by-the-Sea have collapsed and many other properties are in immediate danger,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a message on social media. In the Daytona Beach area, most beach bridges have been closed to all but essential personnel and a curfew has been put in place, he said. Waves crash into a Volusia County building after Hurricane Nicole made landfall on Florida’s east coast, in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, November 10, 2022. Reuters/Marco Bello Wilbur-by-the-Sea is an unnamed community on a barrier island with only beachfront homes. Adjacent to Daytona Beach Shores, a strip of high-rises were evacuated before Nicole’s landfall because their walls had collapsed and the beach was all but gone. The homeowners association at the Marbella condominium just spent $240,000 to temporarily rebuild the seawall that Ian destroyed in September, said Connie Hale Gellner, whose family owns a unit there. Live video from the building’s cameras showed Nicole’s storm surge taking it all the way. “We knew it wasn’t meant to stop a hurricane, it was only meant to stop erosion,” Gellner said. But after Nicole, the building’s pool deck “is basically in the ocean,” Gellner said. “The problem is we don’t have another beach. So even if we wanted to rebuild, they would probably condemn the building because the water is just splashing against the building.” Initial damage assessments showed how Nicole left many beachfront properties drifting above the water. The Volusia Sheriff’s Office released a photo of a home where erosion had undermined the ground up to its main ocean-facing wall. A roofed deck jutted out over the eroded slope supported by narrow timbers. Evacuation of residents at Tower Grande Condominums, 2055 S. Atlantic Ave., due to hazardous conditions and collapsing seawall. 📸 : Nadia Zomorodian pic.twitter.com/lIsxxkkAh8 — Volusia Sheriff (@VolusiaSheriff) November 10, 2022 What was a rare November hurricane had already led officials to close airports and theme parks and order evacuations that included former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. Meanwhile, about 300,000 Florida homes and businesses were without power, according to PowerOutage.us. Gov. Ron DeSantis told a news conference in Tallahassee that there were 17,000 electrical linemen ready to begin restoring power and that many other assets, including rescue boats and vehicles, would be deployed as needed. “We are ready and have the resources to meet any needs that may arise after the storm,” the governor said. Nicole had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph Thursday afternoon and was centered about 45 miles north of Tampa and about 165 miles southeast of Tallahassee, according to the hurricane center. It was moving northwest at 15 mph. Vehicles drive through a flooded road after Hurricane Nicole made landfall on November 10, 2022, in Fort Pierce, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Tropical storm-force winds from the widespread storm extended up to 345 miles from the center in some directions. Nicole was expected to move west toward the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, shift north and then move along the Florida Panhandle and into parts of Georgia Thursday night, the hurricane center said. The storm was expected to move across the southeastern US on Friday. Mike’s Weather Page tweeted video of several dramatic scenes. Fort Pierce… pic.twitter.com/j5DG1w3SeS — Mike’s Weather Page (@tropicalupdate) November 10, 2022 Melbourne… pic.twitter.com/up3S8yhb1v — Mike’s Weather Page (@tropicalupdate) November 10, 2022 Melbourne… pic.twitter.com/iE4oisBtIJ — Mike’s Weather Page (@tropicalupdate) November 10, 2022 Nicole became a hurricane Wednesday afternoon as it slammed into Grand Bahama Island after making landfall hours earlier on Great Abaco Island as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. It is the first storm to hit the Bahamas since Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm that devastated the archipelago in 2019. For storm-weary Floridians, it’s only the third November hurricane to hit their shores since record-keeping began in 1853. The previous ones were Hurricane Yankee in 1935 and Hurricane Kate in 1985. Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s club and home, was in one of the evacuation zones, about a quarter mile inland from the ocean. The main buildings sit on a slight rise about 15 feet above sea level, and the property has survived many stronger hurricanes since it was built nearly a century ago. The resort’s security office hung up on Wednesday when an Associated Press reporter asked if the club had been evacuated. There was no sign of an evacuation as of Wednesday afternoon. There is no penalty for ignoring an evacuation order, but rescue crews will not respond if it puts their members at risk. Officials in Daytona Beach Shores have deemed unsafe at least a half-dozen high-rise, coastal residential buildings already damaged by Hurricane Ian and now threatened by Nicole. In some locations, authorities went door to door telling people to grab their belongings and leave. Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort announced they likely will not open as planned on Thursday. Palm Beach International Airport reopened Thursday morning, and Daytona Beach International Airport said it plans to reopen Friday. It also closed Orlando International Airport, the seventh busiest in the US. Further south, officials said Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport experienced some flight delays and cancellations, but both planned to remain open. Nearly two dozen school districts were closing schools because of the storm, and 15 shelters had opened along Florida’s east coast, DeSantis said. Forty-five of Florida’s 67 counties were under a state of emergency. President Biden also approved a declaration of emergency for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ordering federal aid for the tribal nation, many of whose members live on six reservations across the state. The clan also owns the Hard Rock Cafe franchise, with several of its hotels and casinos in Nicole’s path. Warnings and watches were issued for many areas of Florida, including the southwestern Gulf Coast devastated by Hurricane Ian, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm on September 28. The storm destroyed homes and damaged crops, including orange groves, across the state – damage that many are still dealing with. Ian brought a storm surge of up to 13 feet in late September, causing widespread destruction.