LIVE OAK, Fla. (AP) -
Florida officials say Tropical Storm Debby was responsible for seven deaths in the state.
State emergency operations spokeswoman Jessica Sims said Thursday that two people died in Pinellas County, including a 41-year-old woman caught in a riptide Wednesday at St. Pete Beach.
Storm-related deaths were also reported in Highlands, where a woman was killed by a tornado on Sunday, as well as in Pasco, Polk, Lake and Madison counties. Last week, a South Carolina man also disappeared in the rough surf off the Gulf coast of Alabama.
Debby hovered in the Gulf of Mexico for days before slowly blowing across northern Florida this week and dumping more than two feet of water in some parts.
Gov. Rick Scott is traveling to some of the hardest-hit areas in Florida to survey flood damages.
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