What was once a sprawling shoreline of sand on New Smyrna Beach is now a watery wasteland with tons of leftover debris courtesy of Hurricane Nicole鈥檚 storm surge Thursday morning.
鈥淚鈥檝e been surfing these beaches since I wish I could hitchhike over here with my surfboard under my arm at 13 years old. And I鈥檝e never in my life seen anything like this in Florida,鈥� said Tracy Baxter, a lifetime Floridian, and a resident of Las Brisas condominiums.
Two of the property鈥檚 buildings were condemned after the violent storm surge swept the sand dunes from out beneath the building. Las Brisas鈥� coast side perimeter looked as if someone took a bite out of the shoreline and left a rigid, toothy gap 6-feet high where sand dunes once supported the building.
Baxter, who rode the storm out at a friend鈥檚 home just a couple blocks away, wasn鈥檛 allowed to return to her condo.
鈥淭he city officials came out the other night with 20 police officers to you know, get everybody to move out. He said that if our building went into the water, it could pull building five with it,鈥� she said.
About a mile south, Chases on the Beach, a beloved tiki bar hangs off an edge of Earth, leaning toward the ocean. Beneath it are tons of destroyed lumber, which once held a large deck for the guests of the restaurant. Chases has been in the New Smyrna community for about 30 years and has weathered many tropical storms. Hurricane Ian, which struck the area in September, weakened the restaurant鈥檚 surroundings.
General Manager Joe Ryan says that was the beginning of Chases鈥� troubles.
鈥淏ut, you know, I was worried about the beach, because every storm that comes in, it erodes a little bit more, and then when I saw when it came in, after Ian, and the deck was just kind of slanted, and I saw some of the pilings that were in the sand and there wasn鈥檛 sand there anymore,鈥� he said.
Six weeks later, a system just outside of the Caribbean began developing and caught Ryan鈥檚 eye.
鈥淭hen when it started to gain the tropical characteristics, I was like, alright, and then when I saw how big the wind span was and all that storm surge. I was like, that鈥檚 gonna be a problem,鈥� he said.
And it was.
Nicole made landfall Thursday morning as a category 1 storm, causing additional damage to the already battered restaurant.
It鈥檚 unclear when Chases will re-open.
Back on the beach, Volusia resident, Becky Curtiss was walking the ruins of the coast, picking up trash, and sorting out debris.
鈥淚 take it back to my house and I sort it. I recycle it and do what I can. Because it鈥檚 my beach. It鈥檚 beautiful. I want it to stay beautiful and if other people aren鈥檛 helping you, somebody鈥檚 got to do it and I want to do it. I want to do it. I have to do it. I can鈥檛 pass by it. It just drives me crazy,鈥� she said.
Outside of the Las Brisas building, Jim and Maureen Hampton, longtime residents of the area, stood underneath the building mesmerized by Nicole鈥檚 destruction of New Smyrna Beach, where the beach is nowhere to be found.
鈥淭his one came out of nowhere, right? And was stronger than expected. It ended up being a Cat 1 where they thought it was just gonna be a subtropical storm. So Ian kind of destroyed everything. And it was all set up for Nicole to come in and just wipe it all out,鈥� Jim said.
At the Las Brisas parking lot, Tracy Baxter was waiting on a city inspector to find out if she can return to her condo anytime soon, or any news of how the building鈥檚 board of directors may try to improve safety conditions for future storms. For now, she鈥檚 relying on friends for help and has been touched by the community鈥檚 kindness.
鈥淚鈥檝e I鈥檓 a little bit numb. But I tell you, we have this community of New Smyrna Beach that is just so remarkable. It鈥檚 such a tight-knit community. And the reason that I鈥檝e gotten through it and it makes me tear up is because of the love and the support of everybody. So it鈥檚 been amazing,鈥� she said.
Residents don鈥檛 know how long it may take before New Smyrna Beach returns to a state of normalcy. However, some have accepted that things on the coast may never return to what was.
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