Early damage assessment in Volusia County tops $481 million from Hurricane Nicole

Already tops amount set from Hurricane Ian

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The damages from the category 1 storm in Volusia County, home to Daytona Beach, exceeded those from the much stronger Hurricane Ian, which caused $377 million in the county, officials said. Hurricane Ian, a category 4 storm, made landfall in southwest Florida in late September and tore across the state.

Officials said the numbers will rise as property assessment teams visit additional buildings over the coming days.

Moody’s Investors Service estimated insured losses from Ian at between $40 billion and $70 billion in Florida and North Carolina.

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Severe beach erosion from Ian made homes vulnerable to the impact of Nicole in Wilbur-by-the Sea, a quaint beach community where single-family homes fell into the ocean last week. Volusia County officials said that at least 30 single-family homes in Wilbur-by-the-Sea and seven single-family homes in nearby Ponce Inlet have been deemed unsafe following Hurricane Nicole.

In Daytona Beach Shores and New Smyrna Beach, two dozen multistory condo buildings have been evacuated and deemed unsafe by building inspectors.

Daytona Beach Shore by far had the most property damage in the county, estimated at $370.3 million, according to the Volusia County Property Appraiser. It was followed by New Smyrna Beach at $51.1 million and Daytona Beach at $50 million

For storm-weary Floridians, Nicole was the first November hurricane to hit their shores since 1985 and only the third since record-keeping began in 1853.

The storm was blamed for five deaths in Florida. A man and a woman were killed by electrocution when they touched downed power lines in the Orlando area. Also in Orange County, one man died in a vehicle crash, and a male pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle because of poor road conditions. Another man died as waves battered his yacht against a dock in Cocoa, despite efforts to resuscitate him by paramedics who managed to get on board as the boat broke away from its moorings.

The breakdown in damages for cities in Volusia County are:

  • Daytona Beach Shores: $370.3 million
  • New Smyrna Beach: $51.1 million
  • Daytona Beach: $50 million
  • Unincorporated areas: $5.5 million
  • Ponce Inlet: $2.6 million
  • Port Orange: $1.3 million
  • Holly Hill: $452,676

Buildings deemed unsafe and evacuated, city-by-city:

HURRICANE IAN

Daytona Beach Shores

  • Hawaiian Inn, 2301 S. Atlantic Ave. (five stories)
  • Holiday Inn Express, 3301 S. Atlantic Ave. (11 stories)
  • South Shore Motel, 3225 S. Atlantic Ave. (three stories)
  • White Surf Condo, 3555 S. Atlantic Ave. (seven stories)

HURRICANE NICOLE

  • Daytona Beach Shores
  • Castaways Beach Resort, 2043 S. Atlantic Ave. (7 stories)
  • Curran Shores North, 3615 S. Atlantic Ave. (2 stories)
  • Dimucci Tower 14, 3797 S. Atlantic Ave. (7 stories)
  • Grande Coquina Condo, 3333 S. Atlantic Ave. (22 stories)
  • Flamingo Inn, 2011 S. Atlantic Ave. (3 stories)
  • Lexington Hotel, 2323 S. Atlantic Ave. (6 stories)
  • Marabella Condo, 3343 S. Atlantic Ave. (7 stories)
  • Ocean Court, 2315 S. Atlantic Ave. (2 stories)
  • OPUS Condo, 2071 S. Atlantic Ave. (11 stories)
  • Pirate’s Cove, 3501 S. Atlantic Ave. (7 stories)
  • Sanibel Condo, 3799 S. Atlantic Ave. (11 stories)
  • Sand and Surf, 2535 S. Atlantic Ave. (2 stories)
  • Sherwin Condo, 2555 S. Atlantic Ave. (19 stories)
  • St. Kitts Condominium, 2855 S. Atlantic Ave. (6 stories)
  • Towers Grande, 2055 S. Atlantic Ave. (15 stories)
  • Tropic Shores Resort, 3111 S. Atlantic Ave. (11 stories)
  • Twin Towers North, 3311 S. Atlantic Ave. (18 stories)
  • Twin Towers South, 3315 S. Atlantic Ave. (18 stories)
  • Sunglow Resort, 3647 S. Atlantic Ave. (10 stories)
  • One single-family home

New Smyrna Beach

  • Las Brisas Condominiums, 3001 S. Atlantic Ave. (the two easterly oceanfront buildings) (3 stories)
  • Sea Coast Gardens II Condominiums, 4151 S. Atlantic Ave. (5 stories)
  • Sea Dunes Sand Dollar, 4305 S. Atlantic Ave. (2 stories)
  • Sea Dunes Nautilus, 4365 S. Atlantic Ave. (2 stories)
  • Pieces of Eight, 4375 S. Atlantic Ave. (3 stories)
  • Three single-family homes

Wilbur-by-the-Sea

  • At least 30 single-family homes

Ponce Inlet

  • Ponce Inlet Villas, Building B, 4421 S. Atlantic Ave.
  • Racing’s North Turn, 4511 S. Atlantic Ave.
  • Seven single-family homes

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About the Authors:

Jacob joined ClickOrlando.com in 2022. He spent 19 years at the Orlando Sentinel, mostly as a photojournalist and video journalist, before joining Spectrum News 13 as a web editor and digital journalist in 2021.

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