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Hurricane Nicole makes landfall on Florida’s east coast

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Hurricane Nicole makes landfall just west of Vero Beach, Florida, on November 10, 2022.

NOAA


Hurricane Nicole made landfall on Florida’s east coast just south of Vero Beach early Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.

Storms escalated into a hurricane that hit the Bahamas Wednesday night, prompting U.S. officials to order evacuations, including from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club.

Since record-keeping began in 1853, only two such hurricanes have made landfall: Yankee in 1935 and Hurricane Kate in 1985.

Nicole was expected to see storm surges that could further erode many beaches hit by Hurricane Ian in Septemberthen head to Georgia and Carolina late Thursday and Friday.

“High winds, dangerous storm surges, waves, and heavy rain continue over a wide area,” the Hurricane Center announced early Thursday morning.

About 54,000 homes and businesses in Florida were without electricity when Nicole approached. PowerOutage.us.

Nicole’s center was just 15 miles east-southeast of Fort Pierce, Florida, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. It was a Category 1 hurricane, traveling west-northwest at 14 miles per hour and with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour.

The threshold for a storm to be considered a hurricane is 74 mph sustained winds.

The sprawling storm turned into a hurricane when it smashed into Grand Bahama after making landfall on Great Abaco just hours earlier as a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.

Nicole is the first storm to hit the Bahamas since hurricane dorianthe Category 5 storm that devastated the archipelago in 2019.

In the Bahamas, authorities say more than 860 people are being held in more than 20 shelters. The northwestern part of the archipelago reported massive flooding, fallen trees, power outages and water outages.

Authorities were particularly concerned about the large Haitian community at Great Abaco, which had been destroyed by Dorian and subsequently expanded from 50 acres (20 ha) to 200 acres (80 ha).

“Don’t put yourself at risk,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Intelligence Zhivago Dames, urging everyone to stay indoors. But they don’t risk their lives.”

In Florida, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office tweeted that the storm surge from Tropical Storm Nicole had already breached a seawall along the Indian River Drive, which runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office also said seawater had breached a section of road on Hutchinson Island.

Residents of several Florida counties (Flagler, Palm Beach, Martin, Volusia) have been ordered to evacuate barrier islands, lowlands and mobile homes. Volusia, home to Daytona Beach, has issued a curfew and warned that the coastal bridge used by evacuees will be closed if winds reach 39 miles per hour.

Marlago, Trump’s club and home, is one of the evacuation zones located about 400 meters inland from the sea. The main building sits on a small hill about 15 feet above sea level and has survived many powerful hurricanes since it was built nearly a century ago. When an Associated Press reporter asked whether the club had been evacuated Wednesday, the resort’s security office hung up and there were no signs of an evacuation by early afternoon.

There are no penalties for ignoring evacuation orders, but rescue teams will not respond if members are in danger.

In Palm Beach County, approximately 400 people have checked into seven shelters. Hidir Dontar was one of his software engineers who carry plastic bags with their backpacks and belongings. After experiencing 2004 Hurricane His Frances said he did not want to live in the apartment because the landlord had not installed shutters on the windows.

“I didn’t want to be in the middle of a storm and something was going wrong and thinking, ‘What am I going to do?'” Donter said.

Meanwhile, officials at Daytona Beach Shores have ruled at least half a dozen coastal high-rises, already damaged by Hurricane Ian and now threatened by Nicole, unsafe. Then the authorities went door to door and told people to take their belongings and leave.

Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort have announced they will be closing, and will likely not reopen as planned on Thursday.

Palm Beach International Airport closed Wednesday morning, and Daytona Beach International Airport announced it would suspend operations. His seventh-busiest airport in the United States, Orlando International Airport, was also closed. Farther south, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport have experienced flight delays and cancellations, but both will remain open, officials said.

At a news conference in Tallahassee, Gov. Ron DeSantis said wind was the biggest concern and could lead to major blackouts, but 16,000 linemen were on standby to restore power. , said 600 security guards and seven search and rescue teams were on standby.

Of the storm’s expected landfall, DeSantis said, “It will affect much of Florida all day long.

Nearly 20 school districts have closed schools due to the storm and 15 shelters have been opened along Florida’s east coast, according to the Florida governor.

A state of emergency has been declared in 45 of Florida’s 67 counties.

Kevin Guthrie, head of Florida’s emergency management department, said Floridians should expect tornadoes, rip currents and flash floods.

Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Brave DavisCOP27 UN Climate Summitdrew attention to the link between storms and storms climate change.

“Storms have always been there, but as carbon dioxide emissions warm the planet, storms are increasing in intensity and frequency,” he said. “I know it will be especially difficult for those living in Grand Bahama and Abaco to face another storm.”

New warnings and monitors have been issued for many areas of Florida, including the southwestern Gulf of Mexico coastline devastated by Category 4 Hurricane Ian on September 28. , damage that many are still dealing with.

In Florida, “a combination of dangerous storm surges and tidal ebbs and flows will inundate normally dry areas near the coast with rising water moving inland from the coastline,” says the Hurricane Center.

Daniel Brown, senior hurricane specialist at the Miami-based National Hurricane Center, said the storm will affect much of the state.

“Because the system is so large, almost the entire east coast of Florida, with the exception of the southeastern extremes, will experience strong tropical storm winds in the Keys,” he said.

The storm is then expected to move across central and northern Florida and into southern Georgia on Thursday.

“As we move into the second half of the week in the southeastern United States and parts of the southern Appalachians, we need to pay attention to rainfall, which can cause flooding and flash flooding in those areas,” said Brown. says.

Early Wednesday morning, President Biden declared a state of emergency in Florida and ordered federal assistance to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts to the looming storm. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues to respond to those in need of assistance after Hurricane Ian.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-nicole-verge-hitting-florida/ Hurricane Nicole makes landfall on Florida’s east coast

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