| Advertisement |
Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Two people were killed Thursday, electrocuted by a downed power line in Conway, Fla., after Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. The man and woman were killed at an intersection, where the man had left a vehicle and "made contact with a downed power line," the sheriff's office said. "A woman traveling with the man was also electrocuted and was transported to the hospital, where she died."
Advertisement
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office tweeted confirmation that several houses have collapsed into the ocean, with other area properties at risk. Bridges to the beach were closed except for those to New Smyrna Beach.
A condo on Atlantic Avenue was evacuated "due to unsafe conditions and a seawall collapse." And a Daytona Beach Shores ocean safety building was damaged, along with dozens of other buildings on the beach, Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.
Further south, Florida's "Treasure Coast" saw maximum sustained winds of 75 mph in the storm. In Vero Beach, where Nicole came ashore at 3 a.m., the boardwalk was damaged by heavy winds, rain and beach erosion. Businesses were shuttered.
Gov. Ron Desantis said at a press conference that heavy rains created a 5-foot storm surge, washing out roads and endangering homes in Brevard, Volusia and St. Johns counties.
The strongest wind impacts were in Brevard County, according to NOAA meteorologist Brandan Schaper.
Farther inland, Orlando officials said Nicole dropped about 5 inches of rain in the area and asked residents to limit water use so the wastewater systems won't be overloaded.
Roads in some areas of Central Florida were closed by flooding.
State government has deployed 600 National Guard members to assist storm response.
The storm left 303,357 customers across Florida without power as of Thursday afternoon.
After making landfall, Nicole quickly weakened back to a tropical storm. It was expected to continue to weaken as it moves over Georgia on Thursday.
