MIAMI — Hours ahead of its expected landfall on Florida’s east coast, Nicole strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday evening. Its storm surge and high winds had already clawed pool decks, lifeguard stands and some buildings back into the ocean.
The first round of Nicole-strengthened high tides earlier in the day ate away at beaches and dunes gnawed by Hurricane Ian in September, leading to a round of last-minute evacuations of beachfront condominiums, homes and a hotel in Daytona Beach Shores, an area already under a mandatory evacuation.
“There have been dozens upon dozens of buildings that have been declared structurally unsafe here along the beach in Volusia County,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a video update. “We are fearful that several of those structures will collapse.”
