After making landfall in Florida early Thursday morning as a Category 1 hurricane, Tropical Storm Nicole is still bringing heavy rains and dangerous storm surge flooding. Two individuals have been reported dead, according to authorities.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from Sebastian Inlet, Florida, about 165 miles north of Miami, to just north of Charleston, South Carolina. In Volusia County—composed of Daytona Beach and surrounding areas—around 70 buildings and structures have been compromised or destroyed.
“The current state of the ocean is unforgiving,” said Tammy Malphurs, the director of Volusia County Beaches. “Anywhere near the beach, you are putting your life in danger.”
Shane Soletti, a sophomore at Florida State University, said the university announced the cancellation of classes Thursday and Friday due to the storm. During a trip home from the gym, he witnessed a large power grid in Tallahassee spark out when a stoplight ahead of him on the road suddenly stopped working.
Gwyneth Baker, a senior at the University of Florida in Gainesville, said that, as a Texan, she was surprised by her classmates’ calmness before major storms over the course of her time at school.
“Floridians don’t seem super stressed about it,” Baker said.
Baker says there are “hurricane parties” where friends gather to drink and make merry once storm warnings cancel class. Hurricanes are so common in Florida that a certain acceptance of the situation is quite common, she added.
Sarah Feakins, a professor who works in USC’s Department of Earth Sciences, says larger climate issues are contributing to Florida’s intensifying storms. Global warming has created a longer hurricane season each and every year, leading to “stronger hurricanes with faster wind speeds.” The rapid nature of these storms’ formations leaves residents with inadequate time to prepare and evacuate.
“Rainfall is often the most damaging aspect of some of the larger slow moving storms,” she added.
Florida is an extremely flat and low-lying state, meaning that increased rainfall can cause catastrophic flooding. Streets often fill with water so high that drivers risk flooding out their engines.
When storms pass, the work is far from over as communities shift their focus toward recovering and rebuilding from financial and structural damages. Streets filled with downed tree branches and other debris need to be cleared and cleaned, while houses need to be repaired and rebuilt. Severe storms, which damage a community’s infrastructure such as gas stations and grocery stores, can hinder such efforts, keeping residents from receiving the resources they need.
Safety issues often arise during these recovery efforts due to the strain put on local law enforcement and first responders. Emergency rooms can become overrun, leading some injured to be refused care. Emergency response times often drop as police and EMS are stretched thin, struggling between keeping their communities safe and protecting their own families.
The transition to sustainable energy will greatly impact the direction and impact of global warming on our environment, which in turn will decrease the severity and frequency of these storms. Feakins posits that until we change our fossil fuel use, the issue will only get worse.
“We need to vote for and call for action to rein in the pollution of the major fossil fuel industries and transition rapidly and ethically to a more sustainable energy and transportation sector,” Feakins said.