Homes Seen Toppled Into Ocean, Streets Flooded After Tropical Storm Nicole

Portions of Florida's east coast, still recovering from Hurricane Ian, saw beachfront homes crash into the ocean Thursday as the storm moved northward.
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Mere weeks after Hurricane Ian hit Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm, the state’s still-recovering east coast was again seen getting hammered Thursday, with Tropical Storm Nicole washing out local infrastructure, beaches and prompting mass evacuations.

Video and photos posted on social media show beachfront homes and buildings crashing into the Atlantic Ocean along Volusia County’s already fragile shoreline, in some places exposing living rooms and bedrooms and leaving the remains of in-ground swimming pools dangling over the waves.

The destruction falls in line with advance warnings from local officials who cautioned that the area had yet to recover from Hurricane Ian, which hit the state’s southwest coast on Sept. 28 before moving diagonally across the state.

Remnants of homes are seen after Tropical Storm Nicole washed through Florida's east coast on Thursday, initially as a Category 1 storm.
Remnants of homes are seen after Tropical Storm Nicole washed through Florida's east coast on Thursday, initially as a Category 1 storm.
John Raoux via Associated Press

“There are dozens upon dozens of buildings that have been declared structurally unsafe here along the beach in Volusia County,” Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Wednesday while urging residents to evacuate ahead of Nicole.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday acknowledged that Nicole, which initially made landfall as a Category 1 storm, was not as powerful as Ian but that the area it was hitting was extremely fragile.

“This is obviously not as significant of a storm as Hurricane Ian was, but, coming on the heels of that, you’re seeing communities, particularly in the Volusia County area where you had a lot of that erosion on the coastline, this has put some of those structures in jeopardy,” he said.

Check out some of the photos and videos below:

People walk by a damaged boardwalk in Vero Beach, Florida, on Thursday.
People walk by a damaged boardwalk in Vero Beach, Florida, on Thursday.
Ricardo Arduengo via Reuters
People visit the beach to investigate storm damage, including a lifeguard station that was displaced onto a dune, on Thursday in Vero Beach.
People visit the beach to investigate storm damage, including a lifeguard station that was displaced onto a dune, on Thursday in Vero Beach.
Rebecca Blackwell via Associated Press
Parts of homes are seen collapsing on the beach due to the storm surge Thursday.
Parts of homes are seen collapsing on the beach due to the storm surge Thursday.
John Raoux via Associated Press
Part of Anglin's Fishing Pier is shown after it collapsed into the ocean on Thursday in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida.
Part of Anglin's Fishing Pier is shown after it collapsed into the ocean on Thursday in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida.
via Associated Press
Flood water surrounds a building in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Thursday. Nicole came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane before downgrading.
Flood water surrounds a building in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Thursday. Nicole came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane before downgrading.
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
Members of the Daytona Beach Fire Department walk through flood water searching for people that may need help on Thursday in Daytona Beach.
Members of the Daytona Beach Fire Department walk through flood water searching for people that may need help on Thursday in Daytona Beach.
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
A man walks through flood water that surrounds his home in Daytona Beach on Thursday.
A man walks through flood water that surrounds his home in Daytona Beach on Thursday.
Joe Raedle via Getty Images

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