Update 1: News conference, sandbags, precautionary measures, beach safety

Posted On: November 7, 2022

Just a month after Hurricane Ian left a widespread path of destruction across the state, Volusia County is ramping up efforts to safeguard residents from the effects of Subtropical Storm Nicole, a tropical disturbance that is about 500 miles east of the Northern Bahamas and appears to be headed for Florida’s east coast.

The disturbance is predicted to become a very large subtropical storm over the next several days, with a wind field that is much larger than a typical tropical storm. As a subtropical storm, its strongest winds will be located well to the north and east of the track as it moves into Florida and up the eastern seaboard on Thursday and Friday.

“Because the storm is in the early stage of development, there’s a great deal of uncertainty about its trajectory and intensity,” said Volusia County Emergency Director Jim Judge. “But we need to take this storm very seriously because it could cause more coastal erosion, which could be devastating to our beachfront properties impacted by Hurricane Ian. We’re also looking at rainfall amounts anywhere from of 4 to 8 inches through Friday that could cause flooding, along with tropical storm force winds that could cause widespread power outages.”

County staff is maintaining continuous communication with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the National Weather Service, FEMA and our local municipalities. The Emergency Operations Center will transition to partial activation if conditions warrant.

Press conference

Volusia County will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. today in the Emergency Operations Center, 3825 Tiger Bay Road, Daytona Beach.

County officials will discuss the latest information on Subtropical Storm Nicole, its expected effects on Volusia County and countywide preparations that are underway.

The news conference will be broadcast live on the Volusia County Emergency Management Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/VolusiaCountyEmergencyManagement) and the County of Volusia YouTube (bit.ly/CountyofVolusiaYouTube).

Sandbags

Volusia County will provide free sand and empty sandbags to residents from noon to 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7 and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8 through Wednesday, Nov. 9 in the parking lot of the Volusia County Correctional Facility, 1354 Indian Lake Road, Daytona Beach. Some municipal governments will also provide sand and sandbags. To learn about additional sand and sandbag distribution, check your municipal government’s webpage or visit volusia.org/pin.

Precautionary measures

County officials advise residents to take precautionary measures, including:

• Ensure enough food and water are available for all household members.
• Remove debris, clean gutters and secure loose items, such as yard and patio furniture.
• Make sure flashlights are still working and ample batteries are available.

Coastal residents should consider moving to a safer location as soon as possible.

Beach

Residents and visitors are urged to stay off the beach until further notice due to the dangers presented by wind, high surf and damaged beach structures. Showers and bathrooms will be closed.

Trashcans and port-o-lets have been removed from the beach. Ramps will be closed when tides become too high, and rescue vehicles will not be able to access the beach when the driving lanes are underwater.

Stay informed

Residents can call Volusia County Emergency Management at 386-254-1500 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for more information.

Residents can stay informed by visiting www.volusia.org/pin and downloading the Volusia County EM app, which is available for free on the Google Play or App Store. The app features weather alerts and current conditions, preparedness checklists, links to county sites, locations of the nearest open shelter and sandbag distribution sites, evacuation information, push notifications and more.

Residents are also encouraged to follow Volusia County Emergency Management on Facebook, subscribe to the County of Volusia YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/vcyoutubesubscribe, and sign up for emergency notification phone alerts at www.volusia.org/emergency.