00:00Residents in Volusia County, Florida, that's in the northeastern part of the state, are watching errands every move after getting hit hard by Tropical Storm Nicole in 2022.
00:11Accurators' Leslie Hudson joins us live from Daytona Beach Shores, where dangerous rip currents, along with the possibility of some minor beach erosion, is ongoing.
00:18I do hear some of the seagulls, though, in the distance, too.
00:24Yes, I think he's eyeing my breakfast. I'm not really sure, which is just off camera. We'll see.
00:30That's breaking news. He takes off with my bagel.
00:33But at any rate, yeah, we are here in Daytona Beach Shores, where this was one of the hardest-hit areas from Hurricane Nicole in 2022.
00:43So this has been a litmus test the last couple of days, Aaron, and its impact.
00:48So I'm actually going to step out of the way. I wanted to zoom in here and show you some of the surf, because it's hard to get perspective unless you're here in terms of the scope of those waves.
00:59So these have been breaking, as I slowly zoom in here, around 5 to 8 feet.
01:06They're expecting upwards to about 10 feet here in Volusia County.
01:11And they, of course, have the beach patrol here has urged folks to stay out of the water as we head into the rest of today,
01:19and even all the way into tomorrow and into Friday.
01:22They are expecting a 1 1⁄2 to 2-foot swell, if you will.
01:27So along some of the low-lying areas here in Volusia County, that could mean some beach erosion and also getting close to the shore.
01:35As I pan down towards the north now, again, you can see that very strong fetch north-northeast flow coming in from the backside of Aaron.
01:46And the big concern is just how will these beaches fare in Volusia County?
01:51Because, as we mentioned, this was a major zone for Nicole in 2022.
01:56We've got some video we took yesterday here in northeastern Volusia, or northeastern Florida.
02:03And, again, the repair efforts have been fast and furious.
02:07They have been doing them for over 2 1⁄2 years now, almost 3 years.
02:11The damage from Nicole ranged about $370 million just in Daytona Beach Shores alone.
02:19They had about two dozen condominiums that were deemed unsafe and uninhabitable.
02:24Dozens of homes actually fell into the ocean.
02:27So the planning department here in Volusia County got to work, started to just pack the sand in.
02:33They have renourished this beach.
02:35It's still an ongoing project.
02:36It is not done.
02:37So, again, Aaron, kind of a litmus test to see how these condominiums and these beachfront homes will fare as they continue to head through hurricane season.
02:47Now, a high rip current risk and a high surf advisory are still up today along many of these seaside communities
02:54where they are expecting, again, some of the possibility for some minor erosion as we head into the next couple of days.
03:01It should start to improve by late Thursday and into Friday.
03:04We did talk to a resident that has lived here for 25 years.
03:08He lived through Nicole, and here's what he had to say about the restoration efforts here in Volusia County.
03:16It's taking a little erosion away and building up a shelf on the shoreline.
03:22But they just implemented this policy of refilling in the dunes, and they just did this section about three days ago.
03:30So I came down to see how it's faring, and it seems to be faring very well.
03:34I really believe local government rose to the occasion, and so did the state government.
03:39They did a really good job, and they made promises, and they fulfilled them.
03:43So, again, many of these hard-hit communities testing the waters, if you will, to see how their beaches
03:53and their newly refurbished beaches are faring when there is a tropical system that threatens beach erosion and rough surf.
04:00Aaron's Pounding Surf is putting all of those re-nourishment efforts to the test.
04:04So far, we have not heard officially from the folks here in Volusia County whether they think their re-nourishment program is doing well.
04:11Of course, in an unprofessional view here, things look good from my vantage point,
04:17but it's, of course, the folks that have these homes that jut up right up to the ocean shore that will be the concern.
04:23So folks urged today still to stay out of the water.
04:26They are not letting the cars typically drive here on the sand, which is a famous part of Volusia County.
04:32If you have four-wheel drive, you can drive on the beaches.
04:35They are not allowing that today.
04:37Things are slowly improving, though, and should get better markedly by the weekend.
04:42Reporting from Daytona Beach Shores, I'm Leslie Hudson.
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