Over 237K remain without power in Florida
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
Over 237,000 customers remain without power in Florida after Hurricane Nicole, according to poweroutage.us.
Florida Power and Light has over 124,000 customers still in the dark. Brevard County has over 66,000 customers without power.
Duke Energy is reporting that almost 60,000 of its customers are still without power. The energy company said in a news release it restored more than 160,000 customers and hopes to have 90% of its customers back online by midnight.
WATCH: Minor flooding at Flagler College leaves students stranded in dorms
From CNN’s Sara Smart
Video captured from a dorm room at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, showed streets flooded after Hurricane Nicole hit the area.
Cameron Kraft, a freshman at Flagler, told CNN the water was about waist-deep on Thursday morning.
“Flagler College experienced minor flooding in some building spaces and some leaks. We had no emergency response calls,” Beth Sweeny, Flagler spokesperson, told CNN.
Kraft said the dorm building connected to hers completely lost power and the first floor of her building had slight flooding in some rooms.
We’re under a safety lockdown until tomorrow morning,” Kraft said, “There are security guards in the building to make sure no one leaves.”
Water levels have since gone down as of Thursday afternoon, Kraft said.
“There is a lot less stress now that the storm has passed,” she said.
Kraft evacuated the campus for Hurricane Ian in September and said damage to campus was a lot worse then.
Depending on power and access, the dining hall should reopen for students on Friday, Sweeny said. Boxed meals were handed out to students on Thursday.
Classes will resume in person on Monday.
Hurricane Nicole is straddling Florida’s Big Bend coastal region and is expected to weaken overnight
From CNN Meteorologist Gene Norman
Tropical Storm Nicole has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and is located 95 miles south of Tallahassee, Florida, according to the 4 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. It is moving northwest at 15 mph.
The storm briefly emerged over the open water north of Tampa earlier Thursday afternoon and is now straddling the coast of the Florida Big Bend region northwest of Cedar Key.
The storm is forecast to move into the eastern Florida panhandle Friday evening, then turn northward overnight into Georgia, where it will weaken to a depression.
Through Friday afternoon and night, the system is expected to become post-tropical after being absorbed by a large mid-latitude system currently bringing blizzard conditions to the northern Plains.
Heavy rain is expected across the Florida peninsula producing flash and urban flooding along with renewed river flooding on the St. John’s River.
Flooding is also possible in the southeast US and the central Appalachians, extending northward through eastern Ohio, west-central Pennsylvania and western New York Friday night into Saturday.
Tropical storm warnings remain in effect along the east coast of Florida from the Flagler/Volusia county line in Florida to Altamaha Sound, Georgia, and on the west coast of Florida from Aripeka to Indian Pass.
All other tropical storm warnings are discontinued.
2 “probable” storm-related deaths in Orange County bring death toll to 4, mayor says
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating two additional deaths in Orange County as storm-related, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said during an afternoon news conference.
Demings said two people died in a crash on the Florida turnpike in the county Thursday morning. The mayor did not give any additional details on the crash.
CNN has reached out to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Earlier, the county reported that two people had died after being electrocuted by a downed powerline when exiting a vehicle.
Florida DOT makes emergency repairs on roadway after Hurricane Nicole
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
Florida Department of Transportation crews are working to make emergency repairs on State Road A1A between South 28th Street and South 7th Street in St. Johns County.
More than 800 cubic yards of granular material have been used to repair the two-mile roadway, the agency tweeted.
The roadway is currently closed and is impassable, county officials said.
19 buildings and 40 single-family homes have been compromised in Volusia County following storm
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
Following Hurricane Nicole, 19 hotels or condo buildings and 40 single-family homes in Volusia County are considered “compromised,” county spokesperson Kevin Captain said.
Some buildings have partially collapsed and some need to have an engineering inspection, he said.
Additionally, 11 structures in Daytona Beach Shores have already been deemed compromised, Volusia County Manager George Recktenwald said, adding that assessments continue.
The county continues to access buildings and piers on the beach to make sure they are structurally sound.
“If you go anywhere near the beach, you are putting your life in danger. At this time, the beach is the most dangerous place to be in the county,” Tammy Malphurs, director of Volusia County Beaches said during a news conference Thursday.
There is still up to a foot of breaking waves along the coast, Emergency Management Director Jim Judge said during the news conference.
Malphurs said they are flying double red flags on the beaches and that there are still massive amounts of debris, large waves and strong currents.
“The current state of the ocean is unforgiving. You might not make it out if you step foot into the water,” Malphurs added.
A curfew is in effect for areas east of the intercoastal waterway in Volusia County, officials said. The curfew has been extended until 7 a.m. ET on Friday for those areas.
The Daytona Beach International Airport did not sustain any damage and is expected to reopen the terminal Friday at 4 a.m., Captain said.
Volusia County officials close bridges and implement curfew for some coastal residents
From CNN’s Melissa Alonso
Volusia County officials have “declared a curfew in incorporated and unincorporated areas east of the Intracoastal Waterway from 11:22 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, through 7 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11,” according to a Volusia County storm update.
“The curfew does not apply to regular members of law enforcement and regular employees of local businesses, industries and governmental entities while trading to and from their jobs,” the update noted.
“Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood has ordered the closure of all bridges to the beachside with the exception of the North and South Causeways in New Smyrna Beach. Only essential personnel are allowed to cross the closed bridges until further notice,” the update said.
Two hundred residents were housed in county shelters, according to the update. Three shelters remain open.
Roughly 35,000 customers are without power in the county, officials said.
Parts of A1A at Flagler Beach have crumbled away
From CNN’s Melissa Alonso
Add this to the shoreline damage in eastern Florida: Part of State Road A1A at Flagler Beach is closed because it “is collapsing due to the waves” pushed by Nicole, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.
The road has crumbled in places as the ground underneath it has been washed away, pictures tweeted by the office late Thursday morning show.
Flagler Beach is about a 35-minute drive northwest of Daytona Beach, which is close to where some beachside homes have collapsed in the Volusia County community of Wilbur-By-The-Sea.
Nicole is moving up Florida’s west coast, still delivering heavy rain and dangerous surge
Tropical Storm Nicole’s center is moving near Florida’s west coast — and still is dropping heavy rain and bringing strong winds over a wide area.
As of about 1 p.m. ET, it was centered about 45 miles north of Tampa heading northwest, with sustained winds of 45 mph and higher gusts, the National Hurricane Center said.
Nicole’s winds are widespread — they’re at tropical storm strength (at least 39 mph) for up to 345 miles away from its center, the NHC says.
Nicole’s center is expected to move over the far northeastern Gulf of Mexico in the next several hours, then move inland over the Florida Panhandle Thursday night, and over the southeastern US on Friday, the hurricane center said.
The storm is delivering plenty of threats:
WIND: Tropical storm conditions are expected to continue along Florida’s west coast through Thursday night, and along parts of Florida’s east coast, Georgia, and South Carolina Thursday and Friday.
STORM SURGE AND FLOODING: Storm surge, especially when combined with high tides, have been causing coastal flooding in numerous areas, including Florida’s Volusia County, where a number of beachside homes have crumbled. Up to 5 feet of surge still is possible in parts of coastal northern Florida and Georgia, forecasters say.
RAIN: 3 to 8 inches of rain are possible across much of Florida through Saturday; about 2 to 6 inches are possible in the US Southeast into the central Appalachians and parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio during that time, the hurricane center said.
TORNADOES: A few tornadoes are possible Thursday afternoon over parts of east-central and northeastern Florida, and Thursday afternoon through Friday morning in parts of southeastern Georgia and the Carolinas.
Here are the watches and warnings still in effect as of 1 p.m. ET:
A tropical storm warning is in effect for:
- Sebastian Inlet, Florida, to South Santee River, South Carolina
- The middle of Longboat Key to Indian Pass, Florida
A storm surge warning is in effect for:
- Sebastian Inlet, Florida, to Altamaha Sound, Georgia
- Mouth of the St. Johns River to Georgetown, Florida
- Anclote River, Florida, to Ochlockonee River, Florida
A storm surge watch is in effect for:
- Ochlockonee River to Indian Pass, Florida
- Altamaha Sound, Georgia, to South Santee River, South Carolina