According to Stuart, Florida officials, two people died after they touched a down power line electrocuting them in the Orlando area due to Hurricane Nicole knocking it down.
An Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet, “Never touch a downed power line.”
We hate to bring you this tragic news, but two people are dead after they were electrocuted by a downed power line at Bayfront Pkwy & Pershing Ave early today. Never touch a downed power line. If you see one call 911 so OCSO & our partners can address the danger. pic.twitter.com/9Ra6sMUwIL
— Orange County Sheriff’s Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) November 10, 2022
According to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, two more people also died on Florida’s turnpike during a car crash Thursday morning.
In addition to that, a man and his wife were on the ocean riding out the storm on their yacht when the man began to have a medical emergency. Medical boats drove out to his yacht and transported him to the hospital but he ended up passing away at the hospital.
The hurricane, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm, has left more than 300,000 homes and businesses across the state without power since Thursday morning as the storm raged through multiple counties.
Many areas were hit with heavy rain, powerfully strong winds, dangerous storm surges, and flooding after the Category 1 storm made landfall early Thursday south of Vero Beach and centered about 45 miles north of Tampa at around 1pm.
“This is a life-threatening situation,” wrote Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center said, according to USA Today. People in the region, “should take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising water and the potential for other dangerous conditions.”
Some communities were lucky and didn’t experience the storm’s wrath like Fellsmere, a town of 5,000 people which is just 20 miles northwest of Vero Beach. Authorities said that the only major thing that happened there was a tree that fell in the road.
“There is no major flooding anywhere in the city and as of the time of this post no downed power lines have been observed,” police said, according to USA Today.