TS Nicole

[cooter]

We made out ok with the storm.  It passed about 40 - 50 miles west of us and was a fairly weak tropical storm by then.  We had some gusty winds, not very strong and about 2" of rain.  A few small branches down.  We dodged a bullet for the second time this year.

The SE coast got pumelled.  Volusia county for example (south of Daytona Beach) already had severe beach erosion from Ian.  Now the property appraiser says 455 buildings are damaged for an estimated $480 million.  Many are condos or houses built right on the beach.  Ian eroded the dunes and exposed/damaged their foundations.  Now those foundations are seriously eroded.

Living right on the beach is picturesque until...  We have had several homeowner's insurance providers bail on the state in the last couple of years due to storm damage.

[Nemo]

I moved to FL in 2004 after those 4 big ones hit in the summer.  Was headed to the Tampa area and decided NFW would I live west of I-75.  Bought in Dade City, Pasco County.  10 miles N of Zephyrhills.  Seems everyone knows where that is.

I figured if it got that far inland the whole place was sinking.  Had a flooded yard at time or 3 of the next 6 years but nothing that wasn't gone in a couple hours.

Nemo

[JohnyMac]

Cooter, glad you dodged a bullet. We use to live in Ft. Pierce on our sailboat and I am sure that inlet was hit.

Yes, finding insurance for folks that live within a 100-year flood plane is a challenge. Even FEMA flood insurance is through the roof. When we lived on the beach in RI, over the years our FEMA insurance (Required by the bank) started at about $1.5K a year in 1996 and by the time we left it was up to $8K a year. It was reported at the time, that folks new to FEMA flood insurance was around $23K. I was grandfathered in with my $8K.

With that all written, I do not believe that American citizens (FEMA) should pay for damage caused by coastal storms. There is a choice as to where you live. You want to live on the beach, it should be a roll of the dice for you, not others.

Nicole rolled through here yesterday and we received about .5-inch yesterday and about .75-inch early this morning. Accompanying the rain over the past 24-hours we have had some strong wind gusts that has caused some minor tree/branch damage. For the most part, all the leaves are gone now from the trees. Good for the solar panels and batteries.