In the fall of 2022, the Volusia County coast was hit twice in six weeks. Hurricane Ian weakened seawalls and dunes at the end of September. Then Hurricane Nicole arrived in November and finished the job in places that hadn’t had time to recover.
What Nicole did
The Associated Press reported that Nicole sent homes toppling toward the Atlantic in places where Ian had washed away seawalls only weeks earlier. At the Marbella condominiums in Daytona Beach Shores, the homeowners association had just spent $240,000 to temporarily rebuild a seawall Ian destroyed, and the building’s cameras showed Nicole’s surge taking it away. County Manager George Recktenwald called the structural damage along the coastline unprecedented.
Homes collapsed in Wilbur-by-the-Sea after seawalls failed, and more than two dozen condo buildings were evacuated over structural concerns, ClickOrlando reported. Fox Weather reported that nearly 50 buildings and homes in the county were deemed unsafe after the two storms.
A year later
When ClickOrlando went back in November 2023, many properties were still under construction or hadn’t been touched. Volusia County Emergency Management was helping 62 property owners, and director Clint Mecham described the choices many faced: elevate, rebuild or demolish.
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Questions and answers
When did Hurricane Nicole hit Volusia County?
November 2022, about six weeks after Hurricane Ian.
Why was Nicole so destructive on the Volusia coast?
Ian had already washed away seawalls and dunes, so many properties had little protection left when Nicole’s surge arrived.
How many Volusia buildings were deemed unsafe after Ian and Nicole?
Nearly 50, according to Fox Weather.
This article is general information drawn from the sources listed below. It is not professional, legal, insurance or restoration advice. DIY-DRY is an equipment rental company.
Sources
- PBS NewsHour / Associated Press, “Hurricane Nicole topples beachfront homes into ocean,” Nov. 2022 – pbs.org
- ClickOrlando (WKMG News 6), “Volusia coast struggles to rebuild one year after Nicole,” Nov. 9, 2023 – clickorlando.com
- Fox Weather, “Nearly 50 buildings, homes in Volusia County unsafe after battering by Ian and Nicole” – foxweather.com