At Least 5 Dead After Tropical Storm Nicole Makes Landfall on Florida's East Coast

LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 09: The ocean is whipped up by Tropical Storm Nicole near Anglin's Fishing Pier on November 09, 2022 in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida. Tropical Storm Nicole could become a Category 1 hurricane before hitting Florida’s east coast by early Thursday. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 09: The ocean is whipped up by Tropical Storm Nicole near Anglin's Fishing Pier on November 09, 2022 in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida. Tropical Storm Nicole could become a Category 1 hurricane before hitting Florida’s east coast by early Thursday. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Joe Raedle/Getty

Tropical Storm Nicole has taken the lives of at least five people.

After making landfall in the Bahamas, Nicole arrived on Florida's Atlantic coast early Thursday morning as a rare November hurricane, according to NBC News. After initially being a Category 1 hurricane, it was downgraded to a tropical storm.

In a press conference on Thursday, Orange County mayor Jerry Demings said four people have died so far from the natural disaster.

Two people are dead after they were electrocuted by a downed power line by the storm, Demings said.

Two others died after a car crash on the Florida turnpike in Orange County, Florida, he added.

RELATED: 2 Dead After Being Electrocuted by Downed Power Line as Tropical Storm Nicole Slams Florida

Additionally, Thomas Whittle — a 68-year-old man from Port Canaveral — died "after an attempted rescue early Thursday, during the peak of Hurricane Nicole's impact in Cocoa," the Cocoa Police Department announced on Facebook alongside footage of a boat rocking in heavy storm waters, hitting nearby rails.

Police said they received a call at 4:33 a.m. local time "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 [the] couple on the boat as it was being battered by the waves and the dock," police said.

RELATED: Florida Residents Warned as Subtropical Storm Nicole Could Make Landfall as Rare November Hurricane

While firefighters were able to board the boat and perform CPR on Whittle, "the yacht broke loose from the dock and began to drift."

Rescuers secured "the vessel with a rope" before Whittle and his wife were taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His cause of death has yet to be determined, police said.

In Volusia County, officials declared 49 beachfront buildings are "unsafe."

RELATED VIDEO: Tropical Storm Nicole Expected to Hit Florida as Category 1 Hurricane

"The structural damage along our coastline is unprecedented," Volusia County Manager George Recktenwald said via the county's website.

He continued, "We have never experienced anything like this before, so we ask for your patience as we make our assessments. As always, the safety of our residents and visitors is our top priority. This is going to be a long road to recovery."

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Authorities also ordered for 24 hotels and condos to be evacuated, along with 25 single-family homes, the county's website added.