Pictures of Breakers and New Smyrna Beach After Hurricane

Flagler Ave beach ramp sign and Breakers Restaurant

This post was written after Hurricane Matthew in October 2016.

Breakers restaurant on the beach
Breakers, still standing

I was in New Smyrna for a closing on my new house, and my son and I took a look at the beach. It was four days after Hurricane Matthew and we wanted to see how badly the beaches were hit. Happily I found that Breakers Restaurant, right on the beach, was still standing, and open for business!
If you’ve ever visited the area, you will know it’s the pink building at the end of Flagler Ave., with that awesome view of the ocean. If you are lucky enough to get a seat at the front, you can eat at the bar and watch the waves roll in.

ocean after hurricane

The parking lot across the street from Breakers is no longer free to park (that stinks), so we drove in just long enough to get a few pictures. It was raining, so my photos aren’t that great, but I wanted to share the better ones I took. I would have liked to get out and walk around, but the weather did not allow for it.

ocean after hurricane
Rough Seas in New Smyrna, October 11, 2016

The ocean was churning up sand and the tide was high – at least the water was high – I don’t’ know what the tide schedule was. The beach entrance was blocked off to drivers (you can drive on the beach here), mainly because there was no beach. Below is a bad photo of the sign at the beach entrance.

Sign at Flagler Ave.
Sign at Flagler Ave. entering and exiting the beach

One thing we noticed as we drove around the area was that the coast had been hit with more wind than we were inland. Everywhere we saw debris piled up along the roads ready for removal. Power trucks were everywhere, which meant that a lot of people were still without electricity. Buildings had shingles missing, and trees were down in some areas. Some places had tarps on the roof.

debris lining the road
Debris from Hurricane Matthew Piled for Pickup Along Flagler Ave.

Luckily, the damage was a lot less than what was predicted. Many people along the coast evacuated, and had to sit for days wondering what shape their homes were in.

stop light Flagler and Peninsula ave.
Leaving the Beach, heading for the north causeway

We headed south at Peninsula Ave. and took the south causeway home. The north causeway has a drawbridge for tall boats, mainly sailboats I would assume, but the south causeway bridge does not open. We headed home feeling very lucky that, at our rental house inland, we did not even lose power during the hurricane.

south causeway road
South Causeway, New Smyrna

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Author: Pam

Spending time on the water is the best, and blogging about the sea life found along the saltwater river and ocean is what I do. I’m also a designer at Zazzle and sell my work, with a lot of ocean themes, on the site.

8 thoughts on “Pictures of Breakers and New Smyrna Beach After Hurricane”

  1. So sorry to be late in replying to your comment, but I have been moving into a new place. It’s lucky that Jamaica did not get the brunt of the storm. In my area of Florida – near the central east coast – they are still collecting downed tree limbs that have been piled alongside the roadways. Roofs are still being replaced too. And it wasn’t nearly as bad here as they predicted. So thankful for that!

  2. We were in Montego Bay, Jamaica the day after the hurricane passed by…it didn’t sustain any damage other than a bit of high water and rough waves. Within a day or two the beautiful calm seas returned.

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