This is Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly with an update on Tropical Storm Nicole. Nicole made landfall overnight near Vero Beach as a Category One hurricane and has since dropped back to a tropical storm as it began crossing over Florida. Even though Nicole is weakening, she’s still causing a lot of damage to Flagler County’s coastal area and that will be the case until at least Friday morning. Part of A1A in Flagler Beach is already damaged from the pounding surf and some parts of A1A are closed at the Flagler/St. Johns county line and the south end of A1A near Volusia County and the Flagler Beach water tower. There are debris and rocks in other areas of A1A and some erosion under A1A is occurring, making driving on A1A dangerous. Parts of the dune system have been breached, especially near Marineland, parts of Washington Oaks State Park, Malacompra Park, Bay Park, Bing’s Landing and Beverly Beach also have flooding. There’s also flooding around Dead Lake and Bull Creek Fish Camp in western Flagler County. There will be two more high tide cycles between now and Friday morning. This means that parts of A1A will likely be flooded and damaged more. Waves are expected to be at least 10 feet higher than normal and the water level could be up to six feet higher than normal for a high tide. With this morning’s high tide, we had reports of significant flooding in homes and over roadways in the Hammock area. The next high tide is about 9 p.m. tonight and then about 9 a.m. Friday morning. Remember, just because the wind and rain may be dying down this afternoon and evening doesn’t mean the effects of the storm are over. Those who live along the Intracoastal Waterway can expect the worst of the flooding to come this afternoon. However, the wind and rain should start decreasing this afternoon, too. Flagler deputy sheriffs responded to about 200 calls for service overnight during Tropical Storm Nicole, making four arrests and a few dozen traffic stops. Deputies are still patrolling and catching fugitives from justice and making other arrests, so if you are a criminal that thinks you can prey on our community, you should think twice. Our deputies will give you a free ride to the Green Roof Inn if you try to prey on our community. Flagler County has lifted the emergency evacuation order for Zone A and the barrier island. The bridges are open. However, I encourage you to stay away from the barrier island and the Intracoastal Waterway. Parts of A1A and nearby residential roads are flooded or there is debris on the roadway, making driving dangerous. The ocean is still an angry ocean and going on the beach can be dangerous from a rogue wave. The shelter at Rymfire Elementary School has closed. If you think you need to evacuate your home on the barrier island because of flooding, call the Flagler County Tropical Storm Nicole hotline at (386) 313-4200. They will be able to assist you. Again, I encourage you not to come to the barrier island to sight-see. It’s simply still too dangerous. Your Sheriff’s Office will continue to have extra patrols to serve you and protect you until Tropical Storm Nicole is gone. Follow us on social media where we will post updates on Tropical Storm Nicole and the conditions in Flagler County. Be safe and remember, we will get through this together. #TropicalStormNicole #FlaglerCounty #FCSO