Hurricane Dorian Florida: Millions In Damage; Turtles Get Lucky

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Spared the full wrath of Hurricane Dorian thanks to a "pretty strong right hand turn," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that the Sunshine State still suffered millions of dollars in damage as Dorian whipped the state's Atlantic coast, though he didn't have the exact figures just yet.

"We’ve probably had tens of millions of dollars in damage up along the coast, a lot of beach damage," DeSantis told reporters at the State Emergency Operations Center, which is being shut down after the storm cleared Florida's 1350-mile eastern coastline Wednesday night.

Dorian is blamed for 20 deaths in the Bahamas and at least four deaths in the United States, including three in Florida and one in North Carolina. The storm had also left 1,498 Florida customers without electricity as of 4 p.m. Thursday.

Marine experts were still trying to assess how much damage was caused to sea turtle nesting sites along the Florida coast, but it appears that the playful sea creatures may have caught a break, if the experience of the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center along the Palm Beach County coast proves to be representative of the state.

The Boca Raton nature center reported that only about 100 nests were washed out by Dorian from a record-breaking season of 1,323 nests spread over one five-mile stretch of beach.

"Roughly two-thirds of these nests had successfully hatched before Dorian," according to the Nature Center. "We do expect wind and waves from Dorian to continue to impact our beaches for several days. However, hurricanes are a natural phenomenon and sea turtles have a nesting strategy that accommodates for such natural events."

Each nesting female deposits several nests over the nesting season "essentially hedging her bets" to make sure that there is a high probability of at least a few of the nests incubating successfully.

"It is important to remember that no storm season is a total loss for Florida’s sea turtles, "Gumbo Limbo experts said. "Even in years when Florida sustained direct hits from multiple storms, hatching and emergence success rates were still well within the normal range."

All evacuation orders had been lifted in Florida as of Thursday morning as Hurricane Dorian made its way up the coast to the Carolinas, teetering back and forth between a major category 3 storm with 115 mph winds and category 2 storm with 110 mph winds. The final weather alerts in Florida were lifted late Wednesday night while the last of Florida's evacuation orders were lifted on Thursday as the governor of North Carolina warned his residents to brace for extensive storm damage.

The dangerous storm sparked a new round of storm surge and tropical storm warnings along with hurricane watches north of the Sunshine State as Florida officials planned to reinstate the highway tolls that had been lifted as Hurricane Dorian slowly churned its way to the Atlantic coast of the state from the Bahamas.

Florida's DeSantis said that the state was willing to provide assistance to the Carolinas and other states if asked to do so and was planning to send some of Florida's surplus supplies to hard-hit areas of the Bahamas.

"We have hundreds of thousands of bottles of water for this hurricane season that are going to expire when the hurricane season ends," DeSantis said. "We’re not out of the woods with hurricane season. Obviously, we’re at the peak. But there’s obviously a chance we don’t have a storm and then that water would go to waste."

If Florida does face another hurricane three or four weeks from now, DeSantis said, "We'd be able to backfill that with no problem."

He also urged Floridians to check with their hotels in the Bahamas before canceling any upcoming trips. "Some islands were decimated. Others were not," he said. "They are driven in large party by tourism. They want to keep their engine going."

The National Hurricane Center reported Thursday that a Weatherflow site at Shutes Folly in Charleston Harbor reported a wind gust of 78 mph and an unofficial observing station at Ft Johnson on James Island reported a wind gust of 74 mph. A Weatherflow site in Winyah Bay, South Carolina reported a wind gust of 78 mph.

A buoy at Frying Pan Shoals, North Carolina measured sustained winds of 50 mph and a gust to 64 mph while an observation from Southport, North Carolina, reported a sustained wind of 50 mph and a wind gust of 60 mph.

The National Hurricane Center warned residents of the Carolinas that life-threatening storm surge and dangerous winds are expected along portions of the North Carolina coast, portions of southeast Virginia and the southern Chesapeake Bay regardless of the track that Dorian takes.

"Flash flooding is occurring and will continue to become more widespread across the eastern Carolinas and far southeast Virginia overnight," the National Hurricane Center said at 11 p.m. Thursday. "There is a high risk of flash flooding over these areas where significant life-threatening flash flooding is expected."

Florida was spared the catastrophic damage that islands in the Bahamas sustained when the storm parked over the region for two days.

"We were on edge that whole time," the governor acknowledged on Thursday. "It really did make a pretty strong right hand turn and obviously we’re much better for that. We were looking at a potential situation where you are hitting our most populous part of the state and then potentially damaging communities all up along Florida, and that would have been a really, really big problem."

While residents of the Sunshine State braced for the worst, a South Carolina boy gave up his dream of a trip to Florida's Disney World to help feed an estimated 100 evacuees in his state.

Jermaine Bell used his cash to buy food and beverages for Hurricane Dorian evacuees, purchasing the items with the help of his family. "The people that are traveling to places, I wanted them to have some food to eat, so they can enjoy the ride to the place that they're going to stay at," Bell told WJBF.

Life continued to return to normalcy on Thursday in most parts of Florida as residents took down hurricane shutters and businesses continued to reopen. Disney World's parks were again open for business, airports in Orlando and along the east coast reopened, and many more children returned to school following an extended Labor Day holiday.

The final evacuation order in the state was lifted as of Thursday morning.

The final weather alerts from Dorian were lifted with the 11 p.m. Wednesday night advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

A 56-year-old Florida man was killed Monday night while preparing for the storm. Joseph Walden was sitting on a tree limb and using a chainsaw to trim other limbs in the Orlando suburb of Ocoee when one of the cut limbs broke free and struck him, pushing him to the ground, according to Ocoee police, who said the man was. pronounced dead at a hospital. Another elderly man died in one of the hurricane shelters, according to DeSantis, who said that officials were attempting to determine if the man died from natural causes.

A third death in Florida on Sunday was also blamed on Hurricane Dorian when a 68-year-old man fell while putting up plywood, according to Brevard County Medical Examiner’s Office manager Craig Engleson.

Power was restored to nearly 70,000 Florida Power & Light customers, who were affected by the outer bands of Dorian, according to an FPL spokesperson.

The website PowerOutage.US reported that Florida still had 863 outages as of 11:42 p.m. Thursday. That includes 524 Florida Power & Light customers, 70 Glades Electric Cooperative customers, 60 City Electric Corp customers and 40 Gulf Power customers. Other minor outages were reported elsewhere among other utilities in the state.

Dorian was producing dangerous winds, storm surge and flooding across portions of the Carolinas, according to the National Hurricane Center at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Hurricane Dorian was about 35 miles southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina and 70 miles southwest of Cape Lookout, North Carolina as of 11 p.m. Thursday.

"Dorian is moving toward the northeast near 13 mph ... and this general motion is expected to continue with an increase in forward speed through Saturday," the National Hurricane Center said at 11 p.m. Thursday.

The center of Dorian is expected to move near or over the coast of North Carolina Thursday night and Friday.

"The center of Dorian will move near or over the coast of North Carolina tonight and Friday," the National Hurricane Center said at 11 p.m. Thursday. "The center should move to the southeast of extreme southeastern New England Friday night and Saturday morning, and approach Nova Scotia later Saturday or Saturday night."

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Dorian Flooding, Wind Threats Continue; 4 U.S. Deaths

The governor of North Carolina reported his state's first storm-related death involving an 85-year-old man who fell off a ladder in Columbus County while getting his home ready for the storm.

"The eye of the storm will be close enough to cause extensive damage in North Carolina," warned Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday.

South Carolina was expected to received additional amounts of rainfall up to a half inch with isolated storm totals of 12 inches. Eastern North Carolina was expected to receive an additional 3 to 8 inches with isolated storm totals of 15 inches.

Far southeast Virginia was expected to receive 3 to 8 inches of rain and extreme southeastern New England was expected to receive 2 to 4 inches, according to the National Hurricane Center's 6 p.m. advisory.

"This rainfall may cause life-threatening flash floods," the National Hurricane Center said at 11 p.m. Thursday.

Florida Rebounds From Hurricane Dorian

Laspadas Original Hoagies, known for its cold-cut toss and oversize Philadelphia-style subs, was among a number of businesses that re-opened in Palm Beach County this week.

"We've had over 60 calls to see if we're open," shared Erik Trolz, manager of the Boca Raton eatery, which was closed for two days, including Labor Day. "I'm sure a lot of people are ready to get out of their house and stop eating mac and cheese, Doritos and all the stuff they stocked up on from the stores."

The bustling PortMiami reopened for business after being shut down for Dorian while Port Canaveral remained closed Wednesday morning. Orlando International Airport resumed operations at noon Wednesday. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and North Perry Airport resumed operations Tuesday while Palm Beach International Airport said it would resume operations on Wednesday. Jacksonville International Airport was open but said that all remaining flights for Wednesday had been canceled.

Florida's DeSantis declared a state of emergency for all of the state's 67 counties, any one of which could have been directly impacted by Dorian. At one point the dangerous storm was a catastrophic category 5 hurricane packing winds of 185 mph and one of the most powerful ever to form in the Atlantic.

Debbie Fetterly of the U.S. Postal Service said mail delivery and retail operations on Wednesday resumed in South Florida ZIP Codes beginning with 334 and 349.

Schools around Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Tampa and other parts of the state extended the Labor Day holiday for Dorian but most children will have returned to their classrooms by Friday.

Walt Disney World closed its four theme parks by mid-afternoon Tuesday, but was back on a regular schedule Wednesday. Universal Orlando Resort closed Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure at 6 p.m. Tuesday and planned to do the same on Wednesday. SeaWorld was closed Tuesday and reopened Wednesday.

The following warnings and watches were in effect as of 11 p.m. Thursday:

A storm surge warning is in effect for Cape Fear to Poquoson, Virginia; Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds; Neuse and Pamlico Rivers; Hampton Roads.

A hurricane warning is in effect for South Santee River to the North Carolina and Virginia border; Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the North Carolina and Virginia border to Fenwick Island, Delaware; Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point southward; Tidal Potomac south of Cobb Island; Woods Hole to Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts; Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

A tropical storm watch is in effect for Prince Edward Island; Magdalen Islands; Fundy National Park to Shediac Francois to Boat Harbour.

Patch is tracking every move of Hurricane Dorian. Get all the updates on the storm by subscribing to Patch's free breaking news alerts and daily newsletters.

Despite the warnings, a number of people, including many daredevil surfers, made their way to the beaches of Boca Raton and other Palm Beach County cities earlier this week to experience the unusually high waves. One family was having a picnic on the beach while others danced to music and even played fetch with their dogs.

"We just moved here from New York," shared Michael Koch, who now lives in Boca Raton with his 11-year-old daughter, Sophie. They were playing fetch on the beach with their seven-month old puppy, Roxy.

In nearby Delray Beach about 150 people made their way to Atlantic Community High School, which was used as a shelter ahead of the threatening winds of Hurricane Dorian.

Further north, a fish was seen swimming along a residential street in Boynton Beach where the rising waters delivered an unexpected fresh catch.

The Atlanta Braves offered free tickets to anyone who has evacuated to the metro area because of Hurricane Dorian. Anyone wanting to take advantage of the offer must show a valid driver's license from the specific coastal zip codes that are under a mandatory evacuation. Tickets can only be claimed at the SunTrust ParkTicket Office windows, while supplies last, beginning at noon noon on Thursday.

Gov. DeSantis said 72 nursing homes and assisted living facilities along the east coast had to be evacuated. Those that were not evacuated were required to provide proof of working generators in case the power goes out. Four Florida nursing home employees, including the facility administrator and overnight nursing supervisor, were recently charged with aggravated manslaughter stemming from the 2017 deaths of 12 nursing home patients who died from sweltering conditions when the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills lost power during Hurricane Irma.

"I think that the prosecution that was initiated very recently sent a strong signal that if you are not protecting these folks — if you are grossly negligent – then you can be held accountable, not just in terms of monetary, but potential criminal liability," DeSantis said on Thursday.

Seven hospitals along the coast had planned to evacuate patients at one point, including Port St. Lucie Hospital, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Palm Beach and AdventHeath in New Smyrna Beach.

SEE ALSO: 31 Percent Of Florida Gas Stations Running On Empty

Maj. Eric Flowers of the Indian County Sheriff's Office, which is north of Palm Beach County, noted that some shelters accepted pets.

"I can tell you during the last storm somebody showed up with a truckload of chickens," he recalled. "We took in the chickens."

A restoration workforce of nearly 17,000 Florida Power & Light employees as well as workers from at least 34 different states and parts of Canada has been standing by to restore power to any of the 5 million customers served by the largest of 64 utilities that operate in Florida.

FPL's Bill Orlove told Patch that the power company has learned from Hurricanes Wilma in 2005, Irma in 2017 and Michael in 2018. FPL has been erecting stronger electric poles capable of withstanding hurricane-force winds. It has also shortened the distance between poles and buried some power lines underground.

"In hurricane Wilma we had 12,400 poles that were damaged," Orlove said in an interview. "In hurricane Irma it was a fraction of that. It was 4,600. That shows that the stronger more storm-resilient poles that we're putting into the system have held up which help us get the lights back on quicker."

DeSantis said his state has seen only one hurricane in its history that has rivaled the destructive force of Hurricane Dorian — more than Hurricane Andrew which made landfall at 165 mph and Hurricane Michael which reached land at 160 mph. The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 was tied with Dorian as the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, according to the National Hurricane Center.

More information on Florida evacuations can be found at www.floridadisaster.org/info and further down in this story.

Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended tolls on some Florida toll roads ahead of Dorian. The idea was to make it easier for Floridians and visitors to evacuate if necessary. Fees will be reinstated based on the following three-day schedule, according to state officials.

Effective at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, tolls on the following roads were reinstated:

• Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike (SR 821)
• I-95 Express Lanes
• I-595 Express Lanes
• I-75 Express Lanes
• Alligator Alley

Effective at 12:01 a.m. Friday, September 6th, toll collection will resume on the following roads:

• The Turnpike Mainline (SR 91)
• Beachline Expressway (SR 528)
• Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869)
• SR 417
• SR 429

Effective at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, the Central Florida Expressway Authority will resume toll collection on the following roads:

• SR 408
• SR 414
• SR 451
• SR 453
• SR 538
• SR 551

Effective at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7 the following tolls will be reinstated:

• First Coast Expressway (SR 23)
• I-295 Express Lanes

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said her office has seen an increase in complaints related to price gouging, which occurs when merchants try to cash in by boosting prices of goods ahead of a natural disaster. CBS News reported on Tuesday that the number of cases had risen to 2,400.

SEE ALSO:

• Palm Harbor Pet Rescue Seeks Help For Flooded Bahamas Shelter
• Hurricane Dorian: State Receives 2,100 Price-Gouging Complaints
• Hurricane Dorian: Floridians Launch Support Effort For Bahamas
• 7.3 Million U.S. Homes At Risk From Hurricane Storm Surge: Report
• Hurricane Dorian: State Receives 1,400 Price-Gouging Complaints
• Hurricane Dorian: Governor Suspends Fares For Some Toll Roads
• Hurricane Dorian: Colleges Cancel Classes
• Hurricane Dorian: Floridians Launch Support Effort For Bahamas
• Airbnb Offers Free, Temporary Housing Across Florida, Southeast
• Hurricane Dorian: Orlando Airport To Remain Open Monday

The hurricane made three passes over the Bahamas and disrupted sea turtle nesting sites as far away as the east coast of Florida.

A tropical storm warning means tropical storm winds are expected in the area within 36 hours. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning areas while a hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area. A watch is typically issued 48 hours before the expected first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds.

Tropical storms pack sustained surface winds from 39 to 73 mph. A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area within 36 hours. A tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours.

The crew of a hurricane hunter aircraft released video of Dorian captured as they flew through the storm last Friday:

Here is some footage from our #AirForceReserve #HurricaneHunters. They have flown 18 missions into #HurricaneDorian. This is from today’s mission. pic.twitter.com/pdLWuaRXLO
— Hurricane Hunters (@53rdWRS) August 30, 2019

The wide eye of #HurricaneDorian is visible even from the #GOESEast perspective 22,300 miles away in space.

Airbnb activated its Open Homes Program to help displaced residents and relief workers deployed to the southeast region impacted by Hurricane Dorian. The program connects hosts who are willing to provide free housing with displaced residents and disaster relief workers in the activation area. The program covers most of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and parts of Alabama.

Dorian's ominous presence in the Atlantic has reinforced the need for additional hurricane evacuation routes throughout a state that is attracting new residents at a rate of 906 every day, a recent meeting on plans to build more toll roads in Florida highlighted. In all, Florida has five primary interstate highways, nine auxiliary interstates and 10 toll roads. Transportation planners say that's insufficient for a mass evacuation of the state.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management urged residents who need to gas up vehicles to download the @GasBuddy app to track fuel availability in their community. The state is working with the fuel industry to supply gas stations statewide.

SEE ALSO:

• Hurricane Dorian: Hillsborough County Announces Closings
• Miami Beach Suspends Sandbag Distribution
• Hurricane Dorian: Orlando Airport Cancels Monday Flights
• Study Shows Some Hurricane Dorian Evacuation Routes Inadequate
• Publix, Floridians Find Humor During Wait For Hurricane Dorian
• Florida School Closings Related To Hurricane Dorian
• Hurricane Dorian Forces Change To Rolling Stones Miami Concert
• Hurricane Dorian Creates 'Cone Of Uncertainty' Across Florida
• FSU Seminoles Game Moved From Jacksonville To Tallahassee
• Hurricane Dorian: Do You Have An Emergency Plan And What Is It?
• Dorian Could Become A Cat 3 Or Even A Cat 4; Here's Why
• Improper Use Of Portable Generators Can Have Deadly Outcome
• NOAA Expects More Hurricanes In 2019: Updated Forecast
• Polk County To Open Sandbag Filling Stations Ahead Of Dorian
• Use Of Nukes To Tame Hurricanes Among Ideas Scientists Explored

The Florida governor had previously said that at least 4,000 soldiers and airmen with the Florida National Guard were activated out of a total of 12,000 available.

The Florida governor expanded his state of emergency ahead of the storm to include all 67 counties.

Patch is tracking every move of Hurricane Dorian. Get all the updates on the storm by subscribing to Patch's free breaking news alerts and daily newsletters.

Earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that weather researchers now believe there will be more hurricanes in 2019 than previously expected.

The updated hurricane season outlook calls for 10 to 17 named storms, of which five to nine are expected to become hurricanes. Two to four of those could become major hurricanes, according to NOAA.

The following mandatory and voluntary evacuations ordered in Florida had been lifted as of Thursday, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management:

• Brevard County - Evacuation Lifted 9/4/19 | 8:50AM: Evacuation orders have been lifted. Use caution when traveling. Officials are working now to consolidate shelters.
• Clay County - Evacuation Lifted
• Hendry County - Evacuation Lifted
• Highlands County - Evacuation Lifted
• Indian River County - Evacuation Lifted
• Martin County - Evacuation Lifted
• Nassau County - Evacuation Lifted
• Osceola County - Evacuation Lifted
• Palm Beach County - Evacuation Lifted
• Putnam County - Evacuation Lifted Putnam County is lifting the evacuation order, closing shelters and trying to assess the remaining effects that will need to be dealt with.
• Seminole County - Evacuation Lifted
• St. Johns County - Evacuation Lifted
• St. Lucie County - Evacuation Lifted

Associated Press contributed to this report.