The high waves coming in off the Atlantic Ocean from Hurricane Nicole were great for surfers but they took a toll on some of Florida's beaches.
Nicole made landfall early Thursday near Vero Beach, bringing heavy rain, high winds, and flooding.
Fortunately, the storm didn’t cause much structural damage to buildings in Fort Pierce, on Hutchinson Island, or in Martin and St. Lucie counties. But it did take a toll on the area's most valuable resource – the beach.
HURRICANE NICOLE
"The storm surge came over the parking lot. So, there were actually literally sharks swimming across the street," said one local resident.
"Mild inconvenience is losing our tourist industry because the beach has significant erosion and just so many things that we don’t realize that could get damaged," she said.
By Thursday afternoon, a weakening Nicole had passed out of the area. But residents who witnessed the storm's fury expressed worry for the future.
"This beach probably won't be here, give it maybe 10-15 years. I don’t know, 20. Before too long we'll be lucky if we still have something, you know? Unfortunately," Port St. Lucie resident Kelly Miller said.
Alberto Aiello said his local pizza shop has been up and running for 30 years. It’s right across the street from the beach and the hotels that provide his livelihood since left he New Jersey.
"It’s important, the beach is important, summer time, you know kids go in the summer to the beach, to come in for pizza," he said.
Aiello's shop is like many in Florida that can’t afford to see the beach just wither away.
Residents said mitigating the damage to the beach needs to be a top priority.
"Oh, I think a lot less people might not be coming down, you know, might be moving somewhere else, you know. It affects the animals, it affects the climate, the ocean, everything," Miller said.
