Article Courtesy of Channel
6 Click Orlando
By
Molly Reed
Published December 6, 2022
|
WATCH VIDEO |
|
WILBUR-BY-THE-SEA – A disaster declaration for Hurricane Nicole has been signed
by Gov. Ron DeSantis and is now waiting for a final signature from President Joe
Biden. Some homeowners in Volusia whose homes were destroyed along the coast
hope it’ll help them rebuild faster.
Many worry the state’s permitting process is moving too slow
to save what they still have.
Now, getting permits for a new permanent seawall from the
state’s Dept. of Environmental Protection is another slow
process he’s running into. That’s on top of deciding if it
makes financial sense to even rebuild.
“For the 75 feet of my one home here that we’re in today,
that’s north of a million dollars before you have a house.
That’s with no house. That’s to have the seawall and land
back so you can then build a house,” he said.
Volusia County leaders, city officials, the state DEP and
Small Business Association officials are holding an open
house Thursday for homeowners on the coast.
“Come with pictures, some descriptions of the damage and
then they can come right to those representatives and get
some of those questions answered,” said county spokesperson
Kevin Captain.
That open house Thursday is being held at the Daytona Beach
Shores Community Center from 3-6 p.m. Any coastal residents
or business owners can come in and meet with the state
representatives to get the process of rebuilding started.
|
|
A disaster declaration for Hurricane Nicole has been
signed by Governor Ron DeSantis and is now waiting for a final
signature from President Joe Biden. Some homeowners in Volusia whose
homes were destroyed along the coast hope it’ll help them rebuild
faster.
|
“We’re by ourselves here in Wilbur. We’re part of the county, we’re not
incorporated, we don’t have a homeowner’s association or anything else. So we’re
kind of lost,” Philip Martin said.Martin owns three of these properties on the
beach: two are damaged beyond repair, and the other is just holding on.
“We’re holding on by a little piece of seawall that’s still there and we’re
hoping it will stay up until we can get repairs in,” said Martin.
After Hurricane Ian washed away his seawall, he said it took weeks to get a
permit just to put a temporary one in, just for Hurricane Nicole to bring it
down.
Drone video from Bridgepoint Global shows seven
beachside homes in Wilbur-by-the-Sea collapsed into the Atlantic
Ocean on Thursday after Nicole struck Florida as a hurricane and
ripped across the state, devouring a large chunk of the coastline
along Central Florida beaches. |
WATCH THIS VIDEO
|