DeSantis Updates on Nicole, Landfall as Hurricane and Moving Across Florida

TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis gave Floridians an update on now-Tropical Storm Nicole, which made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane early Thursday morning.

“Winds have been the main concern with the cold but we’ve also seen heavy rains that have resulted in three to five foot of storm surge and some areas have also seen potential flash flooding. Impacts have been basically what’s been expected,” DeSantis said. The governor explained assessments of some of the damage already done by the storm.

“You do have downed trees. You have power lines you have some road washouts combined winds and storm surge. We’ve seen beach erosion, especially in areas that have already seen erosion from Hurricane Ian and these are places like Brevard, Volusia, Flagler and St. John’s counties.”

The storm degraded to a tropical storm after making landfall, and at 10 a.m., it was 50 miles west of Orlando. The wind of the storm remains large in scope and are still a big concern for communities in its path. Florida is seeing numerous reports of downed trees and power lines.

DeSantis said 17,000 linemen are staged to immediately begin restoration efforts after Nicole’s impact, a similar level readiness seen for Hurricane Ian, when power was restored historically swiftly for the damage that was done.

“And I declared a state of emergency on Monday for 34 counties so that they had ample time to prepare for the storm. This morning as an abundance of caution, we’ve expanded out to all counties just simply because we’re not sure the extent of the impacts in Northwest Florida.”

There have been around 330,000 reports of power outages throughout the Sunshine State undergoing another major weather event.

600 national guardsmen have been activated and 7 urban search and rescue teams are on standby. 250 Florida Department of Transportation crews are also prepared to clear roadways and inspect bridges for damage.