Tropical Storm Nicole death toll rises to five in Florida – including electrocuted couple

Tropical depression Nicole dumped heavy rains over Georgia on Friday morning after battering Florida overnight, killing five people and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

Tornado warnings were announced as Nicole, which was downgraded from hurricane status, swept further inland.

Five people have been confirmed dead in Florida, including a couple who were electrocuted by a downed power line in front of their infant child, who was unharmed.

The weather front was moving over Georgia on Friday and headed towards New York, which was braced for 50mph gusts and heavy rains across the state on Friday night and Saturday morning.

Ohio and west-central Pennsylvania were also expected to face the blustery conditions.

A man died on board a yacht after it was battered by strong winds in Cocoa, Florida, police said

The man’s wife reported he was in difficulty, but he couldn’t be saved despite rescue efforts

Tow truck driver Paul Paez (right) was standing outside of his parked truck with his emergency lights on when a 53-year-old man swerved into the truck, which then hit Paez, killing both men

A couple died in front of their young child after they were electrocuted by a downed power line

Nicole spent Thursday cutting across central Florida after making landfall as a hurricane early that morning near Vero Beach.

The brunt of the damage was along the East Coast well north of there, in the Daytona Beach area. The storm made it to the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday evening before turning north.

Nicole was sprawling, covering nearly the entire weather-weary state of Florida while also reaching into Georgia and the Carolinas before dawn on Thursday.

The electrocuted couple, whose identity has not been released, were killed by a downed powerline on Thursday in Orange County.

Two others were also killed in the county when a car swerved into a parked truck on Florida Turnpike. 

The tow truck driver, Paul Paez, 42, from Poinciana, was standing outside of his parked truck with his emergency lights on when a 53-year-old man from Groveland swerved for an unknown reason in his 2000 Isuzu Hombre and struck the truck, which then hit Paez.

Both men were pronounced dead at the scene. 

The storm was over Georgia on Friday and expected to bring heavy winds and rain to New York

The storm was over Georgia on Friday and expected to bring heavy winds and rain to New York

The storm was over Georgia on Friday and expected to bring heavy winds and rain to New York

A fifth man, Thomas Whittle, 68, died on a yacht in Cocoa, Florida, after it was battered by heavy winds.

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Cocoa Police Department said: ‘A 68-year-old Port Canaveral man died after an attempted rescue early Thursday, during the peak of Hurricane Nicole’s impact in Cocoa.

‘At 4:33 a.m. Thursday, police communications officers received a 9-1-1 call from a woman reporting her husband was in distress.

‘The couple was on their yacht docked at Lee Wenner Park.

‘When police and firefighters arrived, they found couple on the boat as it was being battered by the waves and the dock.

‘Firefighters managed to get on the vessel and began CPR on the man, later identified as Thomas Whittle.

‘During the rescue attempt, the yacht broke loose from the dock and began to drift. 

‘Responders were able to secure the vessel with a rope and the couple was transported to the hospital.

‘Whittle was later pronounced deceased. Detectives responded to conduct follow up investigation. The cause of death is not confirmed.’

Florida, which is still reeling from Hurricane Ian, was battered by Nicole throughout Thursday

Florida, which is still reeling from Hurricane Ian, was battered by Nicole throughout Thursday

Florida, which is still reeling from Hurricane Ian, was battered by Nicole throughout Thursday

Tropical storm-force winds extended as far as 450 miles (720 kilometers) from the center in some directions as Nicole turned northward over central Florida.

Officials in Volusia County, northeast of Orlando, said Thursday evening that building inspectors had declared 24 hotels and condos in Daytona Beach Shores and New Smyrna Beach to be unsafe and ordered their evacuations.

At least 25 single-family homes in Wilbur-by-the-Sea had been declared structurally unsafe by building inspectors and also were evacuated, county officials said.

Now a depression, Nicole could dump as much as 8 inches of rain over the Blue Ridge Mountains and there was a chance of flash and urban flooding as far north as New England.

With the center of the storm about 70 miles (115 kilometers) southwest of Macon, Georgia, and maximum sustained winds at 35 mph (55 kph), forecasters issued a string of tornado warnings in North and South Carolina.

Much of both states and Virginia were under a tornado watch.

Wrecks added to Atlanta’s notoriously bad traffic as rain from Nicole fell across the metro area during rush hour, and a few school systems in mountainous north Georgia canceled classes.

Nicole also caused flooding well inland, as parts of the St. Johns River were at or above flood stage. Some rivers in the Tampa Bay area neared flood levels, according to the National Weather Service.

Emergency declarations were approved for all 67 Florida counties and the Seminole Tribe of Florida as the sprawling storm moved over the state.

Parts of Florida were devastated by Hurricane Ian, which struck as a Category 4 storm. Ian destroyed homes and damaged crops, including orange groves, across the state — damage that many are still dealing with — and sent a storm surge of up to 13 feet (4 meters) onshore, causing widespread destruction.