Florida is battening down the hatches … again.
The Sunshine State is bracing for impact from Tropical Storm Nicole with evacuation orders, school closures and residents sandbagging homes in preparation of it making landfall Wednesday.
Over two million people were under a hurricane warning and a total of 34 counties were issued a state of emergency as of Tuesday evening — with almost the entire east coast of Florida set to feel its effects.
Palm Beach County issued an evacuation order for 7am which included mobile homes, barrier islands and low-lying areas. Brevard County issued similar guidelines, while St. Lucie County exercised a voluntary evacuation order.
With 60-mph sustained winds, weather forecasters said the storm is on course to become a Category 1 hurricane by the time it smacks Florida’s eastern coast, and officials are warning residents to take the extremely large storm seriously.
“I urge all Floridians to be prepared and to listen to announcements from local emergency management officials,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “We will continue to monitor the trajectory and strength of this storm as it moves towards Florida.”
Central portions of the state, particularly areas along the coast, are preparing for possible 5-foot storm surges, high winds, rip currents and flash flooding.
Four school districts announced that they would close both Thursday and Friday of this week in anticipation of severe weather.
Nicole is expected to reach winds higher than 74 mph by the time it touches down, which meteorologists predict would lead to seven inches of rain.
Still reeling from damages inflicted by Hurricane Ian after it made landfall in Florida on Sept. 28., the community of Daytona Beach was putting as many sandbags and flood protections in place as it could, but locals feared that would not be enough to save them from damage.
Resident Jeff Grady told Accuweather.com: “The hotels are so big, and I’ve seen [storm surge] all the way up to the pool decks where the pools just collapse.
“With this storm coming, I fear that it’ll eat away at them and [the high-rises] will just collapse.”
Hurricane Ian was the deadliest hurricane to hit the state since 1935, claiming 130 lives. It made landfall as a Category 4 storm, devastating several costal and central Florida areas, destroying entire neighborhoods and knocking out power lines leaving over 2.3 million people without electricity at one point.
“Our community just went through Hurricane Ian. But there’s another storm that we need to pay attention to,” Mayor Buddy Dyer of Orlando, which was hard-hit in September, cautioned in a tweet.
The city said it was providing sand for those wanting to fill up bags ahead of Nicole’s arrival.
Palm Beach County Mayor Robert Weinroth said officials in his County are monitoring the storm’s potential impacts and issued a warning to residents who were not scheduled to evacuate.
“By now, you should have your general needs, and supplies on hand. Look out for your neighbor, the elderly and those living alone,” he said at a news conference.
