TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis announced Thursday he has expanded his emergency declaration to incorporate all 67 Florida counties.
He was joined by FDEM Director Kevin Guthrie at the State Emergency Operational Center in Tallahassee.
Thursday morning, Hurricane Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane near Vero Beach. Nicole was quickly downgraded to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.
Officials determined there is a continuing risk of dangerous storm surge, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, strong winds, hazardous seas, and isolated tornadic activity to extend the disaster declaration.
DeSantis said this is nothing like the deviation from Hurricane Ian, though there are plenty of impacts — mostly what was expected.
Downed trees, road washouts, and beach erosion, especially in places that already saw impacts from Ian, like Daytona Beach.
Nearly a dozen homes and one older hotel in that area slipped into the water as high tide and waves continue to pound the beaches.
Power is also an issue for some. Lines are down in several counties in Nicole’s path.
About 333,000 accounts were offline by midmorning, approximately 2.98% of the state.
Around 17,000 linemen are staged and ready to start repairs. 600 National Guard members were deployed and seven Urban Search and Rescue teams were on standby.
