Castaways deemed safe 1 day after authorities chastised residents for returning home

Castaways Beach Resort residents who defied orders to evacuate their homes breathed a sigh of relief Sunday afternoon when authorities who chastised them Saturday for prematurely returning to the building announced it was safe to return.

A clash between Castaways residents and Daytona Beach Shores authorities went public Saturday afternoon when, during a press conference held directly in front of the seven-story beachfront complex, Public Safety Director Michael Fowler criticized condo owners who returned to the building while it was still deemed unsafe.

Many homes, hotels and condos in Daytona Beach Shores and other nearby communities, like Wilbur-by-the-Sea, sustained significant damage from turbulent surf that undercut the foundation of many beachfront buildings.

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But word quickly spread among defiant residents who disregarded orders from authorities that a structural engineer evaluated the building on Sunday afternoon, and sided with residents on their assessments.

Daytona Beach Shores spokeswoman Nancy Maddox confirmed just before 1:30 p.m. that the building was officially deemed safe.

“Rumor is a state-certified structural engineer came out and looked at both our building and the one next door, and gave us a clean pass,” Castaways Beach Resort resident Robert Longmire said. “The news spread like wildfire through the building. A lot of the residents are back, but there is probably 40 of them still gone because they probably don’t even know that we were cleared.”

Longmire, 66, explained that residents felt trapped when public safety officials seemed hesitant to deem the building safe for habitation after the storm, and the management company refused to return to the building until it was officially deemed safe.

He, and many residents who returned to the building against orders, felt the damage was minor and that public authorities were not justified in their effort to stop people from returning to their homes.

“How could a building be unsafe Friday, and we haven’t done any work on it, but then all of a sudden it’s safe? How does that happen?” Longmire said. “It’s impossible. We were ruled unsafe, then two days later we are safe. Not one bit of work has been done.”

In Saturday's press conference, Fowler said residents, or management companies, who want to see their buildings deemed safe must submit an independent structural engineering study for review.

“Each one of these properties needs to get an independent structural engineer to come in and provide a report on what the level of safety is for the structure,” Fowler said. “They’ll provide that to our chief building official … He may make an assessment based on that report, he may also follow up and come back to the property, and after that, a determination will be made of whether it is safe of not.”

As of 4 p.m. Sunday, the City of Daytona Beach Shores had announced that Curran Shores South, 3641 S. Atlantic Ave; Towers Grande, 2055 S. Atlantic Ave.; and the Twin Towers North and South condos, at 3311 and 3315 S. Atlantic Ave., had also reopened.

Gladys Torres, a 70-year-old resident who lives on the fourth floor of the Castaways Beach Resort, sat in the building’s lobby Sunday afternoon, alone. She was returning to the condo for the first time to assess damage.

She was mustering up her energy to climb four flights of stairs because the elevator was shut down, even though the building never lost power during the storm. Although the building has been deemed safe, she is not sure that she will return just yet.

"I can’t take a bath with cold water, not me,” she joked. "Who do we call to turn on the hot water now? But I feel good, I am so relaxed here, I was not sure if I should go but now I think I am going to stay."

A little after 5:15 p.m., Torres texted The News-Journal.

"Praise Lord we got hot water and the elevator is working!"

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Tropical Storm Nicole: Daytona Beach Shores complex deemed safe