Florida neighbors build seawall hours before hurricane to save beachside business

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – A beachside business proprietor in New Smyrna Beach is relieved her property was spared by the hurricane thanks to the assistance of her neighbors.

Teri Corbett and her husband personal a small beachside inn referred to as Angel Inn the Sand. Corbett remembers the worry she felt as Hurricane Nicole moved in final week. Ian destroyed the dunes that protected her property.

“The city actually called us and said it’s gonna fall if you don’t do something,” she mentioned.

Corbett mentioned a crew scheduled to build safety canceled on the final minute. As the storm moved closed, she pleaded on social media for anybody to assist.

“I said anybody that’s beachside and isn’t evacuating and has muscle,” she mentioned. 

More than a dozen folks – household, buddies, neighbors – came visiting to assist build a brief sea wall hours before Nicole made landfall. 

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“And it was 648 bags of 60-pound concrete, and we did it by hand one by one,” Corbett mentioned. 

Corbett mentioned in the event that they hadn’t constructed the seawall, her property would have been swallowed by the ocean. The business plans to set up a everlasting seawall however till then, Corbett mentioned she feels protected. 

She’s now working to assist different property house owners do the identical.

“Try to help other homeowners who need temporary solutions right and show them that this is just sand built up on your house, and it does work,” she mentioned.