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US

Hurricane Nicole: Beachfront homes in small Florida community washed away

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CNN
 — 

Trip Valigorsky’s beachfront home in a tight-knit community in Volusia County, Florida had been in his family for nearly 15 years before it was washed away this week, as the dangerous storm surge and powerful winds caused by Hurricane Nicole swept across Florida.

“This home was my grandma’s favorite place,” Valigorsky told CNN. “Some of the best memories with her were here.”

Valigorksy is just one of many residents in the beachfront neighborhood of Wilbur-By-The-Sea whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the storm.

In Volusia County, at least 49 beachfront properties, including hotels and condos, have been deemed “unsafe” in the aftermath of Nicole, which hit Florida’s eastern coast south of Vero Beach as a Category 1 hurricane early Thursday before weakening into a tropical storm and eventually becoming a post-tropical cyclone Friday afternoon.

Video from the county shows homes crumbling, reduced to wreckage, as Nicole’s waves erode the coastline. Separate video shows the county’s beach safety office collapsing into the rising water.

Sea level in this part of Florida has risen more than a foot in the past 100 years, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and most of that rise has occurred in the past three decades.

Scientists and researchers have long warned that sea level rise is leading to more erosion and high-tide flooding — particularly during extreme coastal storms.

This has put even more stress on seawalls that are meant to protect coastal communities from high waves and water levels, many of which were destroyed this week by the storm surge. One seawall that was put up on Tuesday, which Valigorsky and his neighbors had hoped would protect their properties from damage, crumbled into the ocean by Wednesday, he said.

“It was stressful wondering if it would fall, and here we are,” Valigorsky said.

On Wednesday morning, Valigorsky decided to grab his essential belongings and his dog to evacuate the area as he watched the storm become even more severe. By the time he returned, all that remained of his home was the garage and the front foyer.

As his community begins to rebuild their neighborhood in the aftermath of Nicole, Valigorsky said he plans to reconstruct his home alongside his neighbors who also lost theirs.

Another resident, Phil Martin, lost his entire home during the hurricane this week.

“It was the most devastating thing to see,” Martin said. “We didn’t think it would be this bad.”

Martin said he has lived in the area for two years and the home was his permanent residence where he spent time with his children and grandchildren, playing soccer in the backyard or walking down to the beach.

“There’s no politics at the beach, everyone gets along,” Martin said, adding that his community and those surrounding Wilbur-By-The-Sea are keeping his spirits high.

“Everything happened very fast with this one,” he said. “But we’re going to rebuild, we’ve got this.”

Just six weeks ago, Hurricane Ian’s storm surge eroded parts of Florida’s eastern coast, hitting the area where a seawall was built behind Martin’s home as well as his neighbors’. Now, he said, that seawall is gone.

The back-to-back nature of storms is making seawalls – which are already aging – more vulnerable, Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, previously told CNN.

“It doesn’t really take a strong storm – you just need high tides or storm-agitated tides to wash away or put extra stress on the walls,” he said. “Having these two storms six weeks apart, if you don’t give places any time to repair or replenish, each storm definitely leaves its mark.”

Arlisa Payne, who has been a resident of the beachfront community for most of her life, told CNN affiliate Spectrum News 13 that she’s “never seen anything like this” after assessing the damage caused by Hurricane Nicole.

Although her home survived the storm, Payne said that she is concerned the seawall in front of her house is at risk of collapsing.

The mother of four children said many of her neighbor’s homes were not damaged by Hurricane Ian but they were hit hard by Nicole, making it difficult for the community to prepare for such storms.

“I think this caught a lot of people off guard,” she said. “How do you prepare for this? People can’t prepare for it.”

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US

Hurricane Nicole: Florida picks up after storm kills at least 5 and leaves ‘unprecedented’ damage to Daytona-area coastline

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CNN
 — 

As Nicole threatens the Carolinas and Virginia on Friday with tornadoes and flooding, Floridians – many still recovering from Hurricane Ian – are picking up the pieces after this week’s storm killed at least five people and ripped apart buildings with its dangerous storm surge and powerful winds.

In Volusia County, Florida, at least 49 beachfront properties, including hotels and condos, have been deemed “unsafe” in the aftermath of Nicole, which hit Florida’s eastern coast south of Vero Beach as a Category 1 hurricane early Thursday before weakening into a tropical storm and eventually becoming a post-tropical cyclone Friday afternoon.

“The structural damage along our coastline is unprecedented,” Volusia County Manager George Recktenwald said in a news conference, adding more buildings will likely be identified as compromised.

As Nicole turns to the northeast, a tornado watch is in effect for portions of northeastern North Carolina, central, eastern and southeast Virginia until 6 p.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Track Nicole here >>

As the storm – the first hurricane to hit the US in November in nearly 40 years – walloped Florida, Ian-battered coastal buildings were compromised even more by coastal erosion. Deputies went door to door Wednesday evacuating residents from structurally unsound buildings in Volusia County ahead of Nicole’s arrival.

In Wilbur-By-The-Sea – a barrier island community off Daytona Beach – 22 homes were evacuated in advance after officials deemed them unsafe.

Then amid Nicole, some oceanfront homes collapsed into the ocean.

Trip Valigorsky unlocked the front door to his home to see a gaping hole leading to crashing ocean waves where his living room had once stood. Pointing to where the television and sofa used to be, he told CNN affiliate WKMG he was in shock.

“I was here Tuesday night and I kind of watched the wall deteriorate, and then I woke up Wednesday morning and the wall was completely gone, so I started evacuating,” Valigorsky said. “And now here we are.”

Nicole also pushed a huge volume of water onshore, tearing through infrastructure already strained by Ian.

Storm surge peaked Thursday morning at around 6 feet, sending rising ocean water to streets. A lower surge also pushed ashore on top of exceptionally high tides associated with this week’s full moon, keeping water levels high longer.

Homes nearly hung off cliffs and Daytona Beach hotels crumbled into the ocean in the storm’s aftermath, drone video showed.

“The devastation is almost impossible to comprehend. Imagine watching your home collapse into the ocean,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood tweeted.

Nicole is weakening as it passes Georgia and heads into the Carolinas, but it still poses dangers, CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said.

The tornado watch in effect Friday covers about 4.2 million people, including Virginia Beach and areas just south of Washington, DC.

Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph are also possible and more than 12 million people are under wind alerts from Georgia into the Carolinas.

This system is expected to produce an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain across the central Appalachians, mid-Atlantic, and New England through Saturday morning, before pushing away from the US East Coast, according to the US Weather Prediction Center.

As remnants of Nicole race northward Friday through Saturday, its tropical moisture will be absorbed by a separate cold front, which delivered blizzard conditions across the northern Plains, CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam said.

Heavy rain and gusty winds in excess of 30 mph will make traveling along the Interstate 95 corridor tricky. Meanwhile, airline travel will likely be disrupted at many East Coast airports as the storm moves through.

As the colossal storm approached Florida, schools and universities closed, hundreds of flights were canceled, airports halted operations and some coastal residents were evacuated.

After Nicole passed through, streets were left flooded, roads and homes were damaged, and thousands were without power. More than 300,000 customers in Florida were affected by outages earlier; the number had fallen by late Friday morning to about 14,000, according to PowerOutage.us.

Two people died after being “electrocuted by a downed power line” in Orange County, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Two additional deaths are being investigated as possibly storm-related following a fatal car accident, according to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings.

Also killed was a 68-year-old Port Canaveral man who had been on a yacht early Thursday morning as it was “being battered by the waves and the dock,” the Cocoa Police Department said. After his wife called 911 to report her husband was in distress, rescuers took the couple to a hospital. He was later pronounced deceased, police said, adding the cause of death isn’t yet determined.

Downed power lines in flooded streets are among a multitude of hazards residents must maneuver in the hurricane’s wake as they return to their homes, and crews work to clear debris from roadways and conduct emergency repairs to washed out roads.



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US

Nicole strikes Florida’s east coast as the first US hurricane in November in nearly 40 years

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Editor’s Note: Affected by the storm? Use CNN’s lite site for low bandwidth.



CNN
 — 

Nicole has weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall early Thursday as a Category 1 hurricane along the east coast of Florida, knocking out power to thousands, pushing buildings near collapse and flooding the coast as the first hurricane to hit the US in November in nearly 40 years.

Follow live updates >>

The storm struck just south of Vero Beach with winds of 75 mph before quickly weakening, the National Hurricane Center said. Its strong winds, downpours and storm surge thrashed some areas hit in September by Hurricane Ian.

A tornado threat, plus powerful wind and rain, are expected to continue Thursday in parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. A tropical storm warning is in effect from Juniper, Florida, to the South Santee River in South Carolina and along Florida’s west coast – where Ian first struck – from Bonita Beach to Indian Pass, plus Lake Okeechobee. Storm surge warnings also remain in place across coastal Florida and Georgia.

“Given the uncertainty of the storm’s strength and path as it approaches South Carolina, residents need to have their personal emergency plans ready to go just in case we need to take safety precautions later in the week,” said Kim Stenson, who heads the state’s emergency management division.

At 7 a.m. ET Thursday, Nicole was still packing 60-mph sustained winds and centered about 30 miles southwest of Orlando, moving west-northwest at 14 mph.

Track Nicole here >>

Up to 8 inches of rain could drench eastern, central and northern portions of Florida. And between 2 to 6 inches are expected from parts of the US southeast to the southern and central Appalachians and western mid-Atlantic through Friday, the hurricane center said.

Nicole is expected to weaken to a depression early Friday and become a post-tropical cyclone over the Southeast.

Here’s what to know now:

Tens of thousands without power: More than 240,000 homes and businesses were without power early Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us.

Crews set to survey damage: In Indian River County, officials Thursday morning will “be assessing debris and messaging cleanup plans,” spokesperson Kathy Copeland. In St. Lucie County, there were so far “no serious reports of damages or injuries,” spokesperson Erick Gill said, adding, “Most likely the biggest impact is going to be beach erosion.”

Residents urged to evacuate unsafe buildings: Ahead of Nicole’s landfall, officials asked people to evacuate some buildings deemed unsafe to withstand the storm. In New Smyrna Beach, some condos were determined to be unsound due to the erosion of a sea wall. And in Daytona Beach Shores, still reeling from Ian’s impact, at least 11 buildings were at risk of collapse, Public Safety Department Director Michael Fowler said.

Volusia County officials told people to leave more than 20 buildings found to be structurally unsound due to Ian’s impact. “There is a strong potential that one or more buildings will collapse during the storm,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood told CNN affiliate WESH-TV on Wednesday.

“Right now, ground zero is here.”

Low tide limits storm surge: Nicole’s peak winds coincided with low tide, limiting the storm surge and inundation on the shore. At Port Canaveral, the surge was measured at just under 6 feet around 4 a.m. ET, just after landfall. Later Thursday morning, surge was down to around 3 feet, but water levels are expected to remain high through high tide, between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Flights canceled and schools closed: The storm’s colossal path led to the closure of many schools, colleges and universities, as well as the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the shuttering of amusement parks. Orlando International Airport halted operations Wednesday afternoon, and Miami International Airport warned of cancellations but did not plan to close.

Historic hurricane: Nicole’s landfall Thursday was the latest in a calendar year a hurricane has ever struck Florida’s Atlantic coast. It broke the record set by the Yankee Hurricane, which hit Florida’s east coast on November 4, 1935.

Earlier impacts: Nicole on Wednesday brought strong winds and dangerous storm surge to the northwestern Bahamas.



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US

Subtropical Storm Nicole is on track to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane as it approaches Florida

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CNN
 — 

A powerful storm packing torrential rain and damaging winds could slam into Florida’s east coast as a Category 1 hurricane this week as many residents are still enduring the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Subtropical Storm Nicole is expected to strengthen slowly as it approaches the Florida Peninsula, bringing heavy rain that could lead to dangerous storm surges and high winds beginning Wednesday, according to Jamie Rhome, the acting director of the National Hurricane Center.

“We’re probably going to have good chunks of the Florida Peninsula impacted by these conditions,” Rhome said Monday in a video briefing posted online.

More than 20 million people are under tropical storm alerts from Hallandale Beach, Florida, all the way north to Altamaha Sound, Georgia, according to according to CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford. Plus, a tropical storm warning has been issued for Lake Okeechobee in southern Florida, he said.

Additionally, more than 5 million people are under storm surge warnings from North Palm Beach northward to Altamaha Sound, including the mouth of the St. Johns River to Georgetown, Shackelford added.

As of early Tuesday, more than 8 million people were under hurricane watches in Florida, Shackelford said. The storm is expected to make landfall Thursday morning above West Palm Beach, he said.

Areas along the state’s west coast from north of Bonita Beach to the Ochlockonee River were also under tropical storm watches Tuesday morning.

Nicole was about 400 miles east-northeast of the northwestern Bahamas Tuesday morning. It is expected to become a tropical storm later Tuesday.

Nicole is not expected to intensify rapidly like Hurricane Ian did in late September when it killed at least 120 of people in its path in Florida and destroyed communities that are still reeling from the destruction.

“We’re not forecasting a major hurricane,” Rhome said. “Again, not an Ian situation, but still a potentially impactful system.”

Impactful in the sense it’s projected to be a strong tropical storm or a Category 1 hurricane by the time it reaches Florida by Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, Rhome said.

“Florida residents need to be taking this seriously,” Rhome said.

The warning comes as a hurricane watch is currently in effect along the east coast of Florida, from the Volusia/Brevard county line to Hallandale Beach, according to the hurricane center.

The watch also extends from just north of Miami to the Space Coast and includes Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Cape Canaveral and Melbourne.

Subtropical Storm Nicole packs wind speed of 45 miles, with higher gusts, Tuesday as it churns toward Florida from the northwestern Bahamas, where a hurricane warning is in effect.

“Dont let the ‘sub’ fool you. #Nicole is a formidable storm that will have major impacts all along the southeastern U.S. coastline, not only near the center. Coastal flooding, large waves and rip currents will extend from the tip of FL to NC,” the National Weather Service explained.

cnnweather

As many people across Florida head to the polls on Tuesday for midterms Election Day, forecasters are warning them to be prepared.

“Florida can expect scattered showers and storm to begin to impact parts of the state by Tuesday afternoon,” Shackelford said.

“The storm surge will be accompanied by large and damaging waves. Residents in the warning area should listen to advice given by local officials,” the hurricane center said.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said online that she’s been briefed on the storm and urged residents to prepare.

“Residents and visitors should monitor the forecast and make sure their storm kit is up-to-date,” Levine Cava said in a social media post. “We’re taking all needed precautions to prepare for potential flooding and power outages.”

Officials are not expecting the storm to impact Election Day on Tuesday.

Rhome, the acting director of the hurricane center, said that the potential for coastal flooding exists for a large area along the eastern coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning Wednesday, adding that some of those areas were hit by Hurricane Ian.

The main threats to Florida are heavy rain amounts up to 7 inches, and storm surge that could rise up to 5 feet along the coast combined with high winds. Those conditions are mainly forecast for Wednesday evening and Thursday.



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US

Subtropical Storm Nicole: Hurricane watch issued for Florida’s east coast as the state grapples with Hurricane Ian’s devastation

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CNN
 — 

A rare November hurricane could batter Florida’s east coast this week as residents try to recover from deadly Hurricane Ian.

Subtropical Storm Nicole is forecast to keep strengthening and is expected to be a Category 1 hurricane when it approaches Florida’s east coast late Wednesday into Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center said Monday.

Warmer than normal ocean waters in the region will allow strengthening as the system develops and could lead to the formation of a November hurricane, CNN Meteorologist Brandon Miller said.

The last hurricane to strike the US in November was Hurricane Kate in 1985.

A hurricane watch is now in effect along the east coast of Florida, from the Volusia/Brevard county line to Hallandale Beach, the National Hurricane Center said.

The watch extends from just north of Miami to the Space Coast and includes Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Cape Canaveral and Melbourne.

A storm surge watch has also been issued for parts of Florida and Georgia, from Altamaha Sound to Hallandale Beach.

Florida officials have warned residents – including some recently hit by devastating Hurricane Ian – that the new storm could bring heavy rain and damaging winds this week.

“Heavy rainfall, coastal flooding, gale force winds and rip tides will impact eastern Florida and the southeast US,” CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford said.

Rainfalls in the Sunshine State could range between 2 and 4 inches, with isolated amounts possibly exceeding 6 inches, Shackelford said.

Already, the US territories of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands are under a flash flood watch through Monday afternoon, and tropical storm watches are in effect for northwest Bahamas.

Areas south of Tampa – some of which are still trying to recover from Hurricane Ian’s destruction in September – could get drenched with 2 to 4 inches of rain.

Orlando could get 1 to 2 inches of rain, and areas south of Jacksonville could be hit with 1 to 4 inches.

Ahead of the storm, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents Sunday to take precautions.

“I encourage all Floridians to be prepared and make a plan in the event a storm impacts Florida,” DeSantis said in a news release.

DeSantis said residents should prepare for an increased risk of coastal flooding, heavy winds, rain, rip currents and beach erosion.

On Tuesday, Election Day, much of the Florida Peninsula can expect breezy to gusty conditions. Chances of rain are expected to increase throughout the day for central and eastern cities such as Miami north to Daytona Beach and inland toward Orlando and Okeechobee.

“Conditions may deteriorate as early as Tuesday and persist into Thursday night/Friday morning,” the National Weather Service in Miami said.

“Impacts to South Florida may include rip currents, coastal flooding, dangerous surf/marine conditions, flooding rainfall, strong sustained winds, and waterspouts/tornadoes.”

DeSantis said officials are coordinating with local emergency management authorities across the state’s 67 counties.

The goal is to “identify potential resource gaps and to implement plans that will allow the state to respond quickly and efficiently ahead of the potential strengthening” of the storm system, the statement said.

Hurricane Ian made landfall September 28 as a strong Category 4 storm on the west coast of the Florida peninsula, packing winds of nearly 150 mph.

The ferocious storm killed at least 120 people in Florida, destroyed many homes and leveled small communities. Thousands of people were without power or water for running days.

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US

Hurricane Roslyn strengthens to a Category 4 while heading towards Mexico before landfall this weekend

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CNN
 — 

Forming off the western coast of Mexico, Hurricane Roslyn has strengthened into a major Category 4 storm and is expected to make landfall this weekend, forecasts show.

Roslyn has sustained winds of 130 mph as of late Saturday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“Additional strengthening is forecast today,” the hurricane center added. “Although some weakening is possible beginning tonight, Roslyn is expected to still be near or at major hurricane strength when it makes landfall on Sunday.”

Roslyn’s sustained wind speed increased by 60 mph in a 24-hour period from Friday to Saturday morning, signifying a rapid intensification. A storm undergoes rapid intensification when its maximum sustained winds increase at least 35 mph in 24 hours or less.

The major hurricane is located about 150 miles to the west-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Roslyn continues to track to the north-northwest at 8 mph, paralleling the southwestern Mexican coast. The storm is then forecast to turn toward the coastline later tonight before “likely making landfall along the coast of the Mexican state of Nayarit Sunday morning,” the hurricane center said.

CNN Weather

Tropical storm winds are expected to arrive on the coastline this afternoon and hurricane conditions are expected by tonight.

Las Islas Marias – an archipelago roughly 60 miles off the mainland coast – is under a hurricane warning as of Saturday morning, as are parts of the west-central mainland coast from Playa Perula to El Roblito.

A hurricane warning is often issued 36 hours in advance of tropical storm-force winds, and any preparations made before the storm’s arrival should be rushed to completion.

Roslyn will bring dangerous storm surges and flooding rains to coastal areas of southwestern and west-central Mexico over the next 48 hours.

Here are the latest rainfall projections according to the hurricane center:

  • Michoacán and the lower coast of Colima: 1 to 3 inches
  • Jalisco: 4 to 8 inches with maximum amounts of 10 inches along the northern coast
  • Upper coast of Colima, western Nayarit including Islas Marias and southeastern Sinaloa: 4 to 6 inches with maximum amounts of 8 inches
  • Southern Durango into western Zacatecas: 1 to 3 inches with maximum amounts of 5 inches

CNN Weather

“This rainfall could lead to flash flooding and landslides in areas of rugged terrain,” the hurricane center said.

Dangerous storm surge will also bring significant coastal flooding near and to the east of where the center of Roslyn makes landfall on Sunday, the hurricane center added.

“Rapid weakening is expected after landfall as Roslyn moves through the mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidentals,” the hurricane center said. The official forecast track shows the system becoming a remnant low by Monday.

The storm is tracking similarly to Hurricane Orlene, which made landfall on October 3 just north of the Nayarit-Sinaloa border as a Category 1 storm before dissipating further inland. Orlene had strengthened into a Category 4 storm over open waters the day prior.

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Science

Asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs also triggered a global tsunami

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CNN
 — 

When a city-size asteroid slammed into Earth 66 million years ago, it wiped out the dinosaurs – and sent a monster tsunami rippling around the planet, according to new research.

The asteroid, about 8.7 miles (14 kilometers) wide, left an impact crater about 62 miles (100 kilometers) across near Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. In addition to ending the reign of the dinosaurs, the direct hit triggered a mass extinction of 75% of animal and plant life on the planet.

When the asteroid hit, it created a series of cataclysmic events. Global temperatures fluctuated; plumes of aerosol, soot and dust filled the air; and wildfires started as flaming pieces of material blasted from the impact re-entered the atmosphere and rained down. Within 48 hours, a tsunami had circled the globe – and it was thousands of times more energetic than modern tsunamis caused by earthquakes.

Researchers set out to gain a better understanding of the tsunami and its reach through modeling. They found evidence to support their findings about the path and power of the tsunami by studying 120 ocean sediment cores from across the globe. A study detailing the findings published Tuesday in the journal American Geophysical Union Advances.

It’s the first global simulation of the tsunami caused by the Chicxulub impact to be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, according to the authors.

The tsunami was powerful enough to create towering waves more than a mile high and scour the ocean floor thousands of miles away from where the asteroid hit, according to the study. It effectively wiped away the sediment record of what happened before the event, as well as during it.

“This tsunami was strong enough to disturb and erode sediments in ocean basins halfway around the globe, leaving either a gap in the sedimentary records or a jumble of older sediments,” said lead author Molly Range, who began working on the study as an undergraduate student and completed it for her master’s thesis at the University of Michigan.

Researchers estimate that the tsunami was up to 30,000 times more energetic than the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, one of the largest on record, that killed more than 230,000 people. The energy of the asteroid impact was at least 100,000 times larger than the Tonga volcanic eruption earlier this year.

Brandon Johnson, study coauthor and an associate professor at Purdue University, used a large computer program called a hydrocode to simulate the first 10 minutes of the Chicxulub impact, including the formation of the crater and the beginning of the tsunami.

He included the size of the asteroid and its speed, which was estimated to be moving at 26,843 miles per hour (43,200 kilometers per hour) when it hit the granite crust and shallow waters of the Yucatan peninsula.

Less than three minutes later, rocks, sediments and other debris pushed a wall of water away from the impact, creating a 2.8 mile (4.5 kilometer) tall wave, according to the simulation. This wave subsided as exploded material fell back to Earth.

But as the debris fell, it created even more chaotic waves.

Ten minutes after impact, a ring-shaped wave about a mile high began traveling across the ocean in all directions from a point that was located 137 miles (220 kilometers) away from the impact.

This simulation was then entered into two different global tsunami models, MOM6 and MOST. While MOM6 is used to model deep ocean tsunamis, MOST is part of tsunami forecasting at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Tsunami Warning Centers.

Both models delivered almost the exact same results, creating a timeline of the tsunami for the research team.

An hour after impact, the tsunami had travel beyond the Gulf of Mexico into the North Atlantic Ocean. Four hours post-impact, the waves passed through the Central American Seaway and into the Pacific Ocean. The Central American Seaway once separated North and South America.

Within 24 hours, the waves entered the Indian Ocean from both sides after traveling across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. And by 48 hours after impact, large tsunami waves had reached most of Earth’s coastlines.

The underwater current was strongest in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Central American Seaway and the South Pacific Ocean, exceeding 0.4 miles per hour (643 meters per hour), which is strong enough to blast away sediments on the ocean floor.

Meanwhile, the Indian Ocean, North Pacific, the South Atlantic and the Mediterranean were shielded from the worst of the tsunami, with lesser underwater currents.

The team analyzed information from 120 sediments that largely came from previous scientific ocean-drilling projects. There were more intact sediment layers in the waters protected from the tsunami’s wrath. Meanwhile, there were gaps in the sediment record for the North Atlantic and South Pacific oceans.

The researchers were surprised to find that sediment on the eastern shores of New Zealand’s north and south islands had been heavily disturbed with multiple gaps. Initially, scientists thought this was because of the activity of tectonic plates.

But the new model shows the sediments being directly in the pathway of the Chicxulub tsunami, despite being 7,500 miles (12,000 kilometers) away.

“We feel these deposits are recording the effects of the impact tsunami, and this is perhaps the most telling confirmation of the global significance of this event,” Range said.

While the team didn’t estimate the tsunami’s impact on coastal flooding, the model shows that the North Atlantic coastal regions and South America’s Pacific coast were likely hit with waves taller than 32.8 feet (20 meters). The waves only grew as they neared the shore, causing flooding and erosion.

Future research will model the extent of global flooding after the impact and how far inland the tsunami’s effects could be felt, according to study coauthor and University of Michigan professor and physical oceanographer Brian Arbic.

“Obviously the greatest inundations would have been closest to the impact site, but even far away the waves were likely to be very large,” Arbic said.

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US

Hurricane Ian: Death toll rises to 66 in Florida after the storm rendered some communities ‘unrecognizable,’ officials say

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CNN
 — 

Days after Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida, shell-shocked residents are still assessing the damage left behind by record-high storm surge, damaging winds and catastrophic flooding that left some areas of the Sunshine State unrecognizable.

At least 66 people were killed by Ian in Florida as it swallowed homes in its furious rushing waters, obliterated roadways and ripped down powerlines. Four people were also killed in storm-related incidents in North Carolina, officials say.

Nearly 900,000 customers in Florida still did not have power as of early Sunday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. More than 30,000 remained without power in North Carolina.

The hurricane – expected to be ranked the most expensive storm in Florida’s history – made landfall Wednesday as a powerful Category 4 and had weakened to a post-tropical cyclone by Saturday, dropping rain over parts of West Virginia and western Maryland.

While sunshine has returned to Florida, many there are contending with Ian’s sobering aftermath: a power grid that may take weeks to fix, destroyed homes, damaged landmarks, and lost loves ones.

The devastation stretched from Florida’s coastal towns to inland cities like Orlando, but was felt most intensely in southwestern coastal communities, like Fort Myers and Naples.

Crews had rescued and evacuated more than 1,070 people from flooded areas in southwest and central Florida and transported 78 people from a flooded elderly care facility as of Saturday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said in a news release.

The US Coast Guard also carried out rescues, navigating through challenging post-storm conditions, Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson told CNN.

“We’re flying and we’re operating in areas that are unrecognizable,” he said. “There’s no street signs. They don’t look like they used to look like. Buildings that were once benchmarks in the community are no longer there.”

Many of the Ian-related deaths have been reported in southwestern Florida’s Lee County, which includes Fort Myers and Sanibel Island, where at least 35 people died.

Local officials are facing criticism about whether mandatory evacuations in Lee County should have been issued sooner. Officials there did not order evacuations until less than 24 hours before the storm made landfall, and a day after several neighboring counties issued their orders.

DeSantis on Saturday defended the timing of Lee County’s orders, saying they were given as soon as the storm’s projected path shifted south, putting the area in Ian’s crosshairs.

The storm’s toll in Florida also includes 12 deaths in Charlotte County, eight in Collier County, five in Volusia County, three in Sarasota County and one each in Polk, Lake and Manatee counties, according to officials.

President Joe Biden continued to pledge federal support for Florida, saying Hurricane Ian is “likely to rank among the worst … in the nation’s history.”

The President and first lady Jill Biden are set to travel to Puerto Rico Monday to survey damage from Hurricane Fiona, then head to Florida Wednesday, according to a statement from the White House.

After Hurricane Ian finished its devastating crawl over Florida, residents emerged, surveying damaged homes, picking up debris and maneuvering waterlogged roads.

The Florida National Guard was working on search and rescue missions with local authorities throughout southwest and central Florida Saturday, pulling distressed residents from flooded areas and lifting some to safety via helicopter, according to the governor.

People on Sanibel and Captiva islands found themselves cut off from the mainland after parts of a causeway were destroyed by the storm, leaving boats and helicopters as their only exit options.

Groups of civilian volunteers were working to help residents leave Sanibel, where aerial imagery has shown many cottages that lined the island’s shores were wiped away.

Sanibel Island resident Andy Boyle was on the island when the hurricane hit. He said he lost his home and two cars, but feels lucky to be alive.

“A lot of people have very expensive, well-built homes on Sanibel and they felt with their multi-million dollar homes built like fortresses, they would be fine,” Boyle said.

Boyle was riding out the storm at home when the dining room roof collapsed. “That’s when we started to get concerned,” he said.

He described waving down National Guard aircraft the next day outside his house, and seeing the scenes of devastation around the island.

“When you go to the east end of the island, there’s just a lot of destruction. The houses surrounding the lighthouse are all gone. When you go to the west end of the island, the old restaurants up there, they’re all gone. The street going to Captiva is now a beach,” Boyle said.

The US Coast Guard plans to evacuate people from Lee County’s Pine Island during daylight hours Sunday, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

Residents were also evacuated from the Hidden River area of Sarasota County after a compromised levee threatened to flood homes, the sheriff’s office said Saturday.

Further complicating recovery is the lack of electricity and spotty communication in impacted areas.

It could take up to a week from Sunday before power is restored in storm-damaged counties, said Eric Silagy, president and CEO of Florida Power & Light Company. And some customers may not be back on the grid for “weeks or months” because some buildings with structural damage will need safety inspections.

Around 65% of all power outages in Florida from the storm had been resorted as of early Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us.

Florida is also working with Elon Musk and Starlink satellite to help restore communication in the state, according to DeSantis. “They’re positioning those Starlink satellites to provide good coverage in Southwest Florida and other affected areas,” DeSantis said.

Emergency responders in Lee County will be among those receiving Starlink devices.

Fort Myers councilmember Liston Bochette told CNN the city was hit hard, with “major issues” with in the city’s water, power and sewage systems.

In Charlotte County, residents are “facing a tragedy” without homes, electricity or water supplies, said Claudette Smith, public information officer for the sheriff’s office.

“We need everything, to put it plain and simple. We need everything. We need all hands on deck,” Smith told CNN Friday. “The people who have come to our assistance have been tremendously helpful, but we do need everything.”

Hurricane Ian may have caused as much as $47 billion in insured losses in Florida, according to an estimate from property analytics firm CoreLogic – which could make it the most expensive storm in the state’s history.

After walloping Florida, Ian made its second landfall in the US near Georgetown, South Carolina, Friday afternoon as a Category 1 hurricane, and began lashing the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas with ferocious wind and rainfall.

In North Carolina, the four storm-related deaths include a man who drowned when his truck went into a flooded swamp; two people who died in separate crashes; and a man who died of carbon monoxide poisoning after running a generator in a closed garage, according to Gov. Roy Cooper’s office.

No deaths have been reported in South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster said Saturday.

The storm has flooded homes and submerged vehicles along South Carolina’s shoreline. Two piers – one in Pawleys Island and another in North Myrtle Beach – partially collapsed as high winds pushed water even higher.

Edgar Stephens, who manages the Cherry Grove Pier in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, stood yards away as a 100-foot section from the pier’s middle crashed into the ocean.

Stephens said the Cherry Grove Pier is a staple for community members and tourists alike.

“We’re a destination, not just a fishing pier,” Stephens said.

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US

Before, after images show Hurricane Ian storm surge completely destroyed some Sanibel Island, Florida hotels

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CNN
 — 

Many beach cottages that lined the shores of Sanibel Island were wiped away by Hurricane Ian’s storm surge, new aerial imagery from NOAA shows.

Most homes on Sanibel and Captiva islands are still standing, but appear to have sustained some form of roof damage, in addition to certain storm surge and flooding damage.

Near the Casa Ybel Beach Resort, large scars in the sands are seen – the surge eroded much of the beach and dunes.

An aerial view of beach erosion near Casa Ybel Beach Resort on Sanibel Island, Florida, before and after Hurricane Ian.

If you are unable to see the images, click here.

Shalimar Cottages & Motel is gone, too. Its 14 cottages and entire motel building were wiped away by the storm. At least four cottages – or what remains of them – are sitting in the street.

An aerial view of the Shalimar Cottages & Motel on Sanibel Island, Florida, before and after Hurricane Ian.

Mitchell’s SandCastles has also been completely destroyed. There are no buildings left and the property is covered in sand.

An aerial view of Mitchell’s SandCastles on Sanibel Island, Florida, before and after Hurricane Ian.

Only one building remains of the Waterside Inn on the Beach. The only thing remaining of the eight buildings on the property, which encircle the swimming pool, is debris.

An aerial view of the Waterside Inn on Sanibel Island, Florida, before and after Hurricane Ian.

The roofs of the four buildings that comprise Ocean’s Reach have sustained significant damage. It’s unclear how things fared inside the buildings, but a significant debris field is seen behind the buildings. The covered parking structure behind the buildings has been destroyed as well.

An aerial view of the Ocean’s Reach on Sanibel Island, Florida, before and after Hurricane Ian.

Near the Casa Ybel Beach Resort, large scars in the sands are seen – the surge eroded much of the beach and dunes.

An aerial view of beach erosion near Casa Ybel Beach Resort on Sanibel Island, Florida, before and after Hurricane Ian.

Even though storm surge is no longer covering Sanibel, a number of homes remain underwater located on the Sanibel Island Golf Club.

An aerial view of Sanibel Island Golf Club, Florida, before and after Hurricane Ian.

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US

Sanibel Island : A ‘war zone’ where some stranged choose to leave and other stay

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Sanibel Island, Florida
CNN
 — 

An older couple who rode out Hurricane Ian in their home on Sanibel Island in Florida could not agree on evacuating after parts of the causeway to the mainland were destroyed.

“We’re going. We’re going,” the unidentified man told his partner as she looked down from the home’s upper porch.

“But where?” she asked.

Fort Myers, she was told by the man and members of a rescue mission who arrived by boat.

“The bridge is down.”

“I’m not ready to go,” she said Thursday, staying behind.

Ian has left at least two people dead on the barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico, and volunteers from Louisiana’s Cajun Navy and other rescue groups have been out on boats checking on the roughly 200 households that did not evacuate.

“When Americans are in trouble in bad spots – usually we do war zones and conflict zones, but Hurricane Ian qualifies,” said Bryan Stern, a former military intelligence officer more accustomed with operating in places like Ukraine and Afghanistan.

Stern is co-founder of Project Dynamo, a group of veterans who locate at-risk Americans in conflict zones and transport them to safety. Its name comes from the operation that evacuated Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches of Dunkirk in France.

“Now here we are. We’re going to rescue some people off Sanibel, which is cut off from the world right now,” he said. “So it’s very apropos.”

Ian ripped away several parts of the causeway that was the island’s only access to Florida’s mainland. On Thursday night, dozens of people remained stranded, according to Sanibel Mayor Holly Smith.

At least five sections of the Sanibel Causeway – which connects Sanibel and Captiva islands to the mainland – were washed away by the storm, Lee County officials said.

Twelve people were rescued off Sanibel Island with injuries and about 40 people were rescued without injuries, the mayor told CNN on Thursday. Sanibel City Manager Dana Souza reported the two fatalities.

When asked if the city is currently livable, the mayor said, “Frankly, no.”

Many beach cottages that lined the shores of Sanibel Island were wiped away by Ian’s storm surge, new aerial imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows. Most homes appear to have sustained roof damage, along with damage from the storm surge and flooding.

“The destruction is unbelievable,” Stern told CNN. “This is true carnage. It’s a war zone.”

Nancy and Robert Sharon were among the people Stern’s outfit and volunteers from the Cajun Navy rescued on Thursday.

“I heard they weren’t going to do anything after the bridge closed down but my granddaughters are in Ohio and she was crying hysterical when I talked to her,” Nancy Sharon said.

Her grandchildren contacted the Cajun Navy and Project Dynamo and begged them to check for proof of life.

Hurricane Ian damage: Causeway connecting Florida mainland to island crumbled into ocean

Some rescue teams were transported by helicopter to the islands, where they went door-to-door checking on residents, according to Florida State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis. Florida’s National Guard was assisting in the efforts, Patronis added.

An estimated 6,400 people lived in the City of Sanibel as of April 2021, per the US Census Bureau. The islands are home to a number of hotels and resorts, as their beaches draw a significant amount of tourists each year.

A 2017 City of Sanibel count measured annual bridge traffic over the causeway at over 3 million vehicles.

Lee County officials were assessing damage and also conducting search and rescue operations, Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais said Thursday.

Federal urban search and rescue teams were deployed from across the country.

All 15 shelters in the county that opened prior to the storm’s arrival remained open, Desjarlais said. Roughly 4,000 people took shelter by late Wednesday.

“Given the amount of damage in the community, I think it’s reasonable to expect that those shelters will begin to fill up a little more. We have space for about 40,000 people,” the county manager added.

A boil water order was in place countywide, he said. Bridge inspections were also underway across the county. Officials hope all bridges will be inspected by Friday, Desjarlais said.

There was also “extensive damage to the buildings” on Sanibel Island, he said.

“I can tell you that in all these years I have not seen damage to Lee County from a storm like this. When you take a look at the barrier islands, particularly from the air, it’s very clear to see where the storm came onshore,” Desjarlais said.

Sanibel was devastated, Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Thursday, adding the area was hit with a “biblical storm surge.”

“It washed away roads, it washed away structures that were not new and could withstand that,” he said.

The causeway will be rebuilt, DeSantis said. “But that’s not something that will happen overnight.”

Residents were urged to stay inside to avoid injuries and to allow first responders to assess the damage, Lee County officials said Thursday.

Watch US Coast Guard rescue woman from flooded neighborhood

Smith, the mayor of Sanibel, planned to fly out to the island Friday. She told CNN’s John Berman that she was seeing some images of the damage for the first time on CNN and “it’s pretty emotional for me.”

DeSantis said messages continued to come in from families concerned about loved ones. But many of those stranded on the island are waving and thanking rescuers for coming but staying put for now, he said.

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