Nicole was upgraded from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane as it made landfall in the Bahamas with 75 mph winds on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As Hurricane Nicole hit Daytona Beach, Fox Weather reporter Robert Ray began sharing videos showcasing the intensity of the storm. One clip posted on Thursday and since viewed over 6,000 times, showed sea foam coating the sidewalks and railings as waves moved deeper inland away from the beach at a rapid pace.
“Unreal here on Daytona Beach,” he tweeted.
Ray posted another video just hours later of a grim scene at the shore, where he said the “actual beach is submerged and parts of the boardwalk have collapsed.” As the camera pans, it shows sea spray spurting up from giant holes knocked into the boardwalk, and broken stairs leading to nothing but swirling water.
Journalist Chaudhary Parvez posted videos of the destruction caused in Deerfield Beach and Daytona Beach.
“A structure attached to the ocean rescue building on Dunlawton Blvd in Daytona Beach shores is falling into the ocean,” Parvez wrote as a caption for a video that has been viewed more than 90,000 times. “The seawall at a restaurant across the street is crumbling.”
Parvez shared another clip that captured the moment a powerful wave slammed into the pier at Deerfield Beach, tearing off a chunk of the railing. “Deerfield beach pier has been getting beat up, slowly falling apart,” he wrote.
“Nicole did not disappoint! Hit by massive, rogue, surge wave in Vero beach just as daylight was fading,” extreme weather photojournalist and storm-chaser Warren Faidley tweeted on Wednesday, sharing a 13-second clip of himself celebrating after taking photos of Hurricane Nicole’s impact at the shore.
“Took an hour to remove sand from body and gear,” he added.
Ahead of the storm hitting Florida, parts of Volusia County, which surrounds the greater Daytona Beach area, were the first to receive evacuation orders on Tuesday afternoon. The orders took effect at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
Videos of homes being washed away due to the high and fast waves in Daytona Beach have also begun circulating.
WESH 2 News reporter Claire Metz shared a video on Thursday showing beachfront homes slipping into the ocean and said that “at least five to six homes” had already been lost.
Some mandatory evacuation zones were also ordered in Flagler County, north of Volusia, local news station WESH reported. The Miami Herald also reported evacuation zones along the coast in Palm Beach and Brevard counties.
Florida’s Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) issued a state of emergency in 34 counties on Tuesday, announcing it was “closely monitoring” the storm. The agency added that it was continuing to support Floridians recovering from Hurricane Ian’s devastation.
The Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), which covers the eastern coast of the state, also said it is preparing for widespread outages ahead of Hurricane Nicole, according to a statement from the company Tuesday.
