The FCC activated its Disaster Information Reporting System in parts of Florida for Hurricane Nicole, which made landfall just south of Vero Beach at about 3 a.m. on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Nicole was a Category 1 hurricane when it hit Florida and then was downgraded to a tropical storm.
Nicole was predicted to head north-northeastward across the sunshine state today. The storm is expected to weaken further as it heads north towards Georgia and the Carolinas, over the next two days.
Since the storm hit in the early hours, more than 600,000 homes and businesses lost power. Electricity has been restored to around half of these but 308,000 remain without as of mid-Thursday, according to service providers, notes the Florida Times-Union.
Thirty-four Florida counties are part of the DIRS coverage area for Nicole. They are: Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, DeSoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Volusia.
A total of 0.9 percent of the cell sites in the affected area were out of service as of Thursday afternoon, according to DIRS. Sixty had no power, 22 had data transport issues and 22 were damaged by the storm. An additional 126 are operational, and running on backup power.
Brevard County had the most cell sites out, 23 out of 353. Twelve had no power, five had data transport issues and four were damaged. An additional seven were operating on backup power, according to information providers gave to the FCC.
Orange County also had 23 cell sites not working, but out of a total of 1,068. Twelve had no power, six had data transport issues and four were damaged. Another 32 were operating on backup power.
No 911 call centers reported problems. Cable and wireline companies reported 175,903 subscribers out of service in the disaster area. This includes the loss of telephone, television, and/or internet services.
No TV stations said they were off the air. Two FMs and one AM were off-air.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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