In some parts of Florida, damage assessments from Hurricane Nicole are outpacing Hurricane Ian.
For Volusia County alone, that total is approaching $500 million. Officials there continue to warn people away from the shoreline as parts of homes continue to tumble down to the sand.
Saturday night, days after Nicole's fury ate away much of the foundation from under the beachside homes, pieces of concrete block continued to break off and tumble down onto the shore, stunning people walking by.
"It's surreal," said Sakti Turner. "Growing up here, we've seen these houses along the shoreline forever, and then coming back just to see it."
Despite concerns over the damaged structures and debris in the water, curiosity continues to drive many people to come for a look.
Stacy Goodwin just moved to Port Orange from New Jersey.
"This is the second storm in six weeks that I've endured, and I've never seen anything like this," Goodwin said. "In New Jersey we had Superstorm Sandy, which was horrific, but these poor people. It's just heartbreaking and absolutely terrible."
The Volusia County property appraiser has submitted the initial damage assessment report for Hurricane Nicole of $481 million, which eclipses Hurricane Ian's damage of $377 million.
Daytona Beach Shores suffered the most property damage with $370.3 million; New Smyrna was next at $51.1 million, followed by Daytona Beach at $50 million.
For some of the storm victims, rebuilding will like take years —if they rebuild at all— and that notion moved Goodwin to tears.
"They work so hard for this all of their lives, and in a second it's gone," she noted. "It's just so heartbreaking."
In addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage, five deaths have been attributed to Hurricane Nicole.
