Powerful Storms Kill at Least 14 in Florida
By JIM ELLIS
AP
LADY LAKE, Fla. (Feb. 2) - At least 14 people were killed early Friday as severe thunderstorms and at least one tornado struck central Florida, flattening hundreds of homes and a church, causing power outages and lifting a tractor trailer into the air, officials said.
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The tornado appeared to be the deadliest to hit Florida since 1998. Dozens of mobile homes in a 20-square-mile area of Lady Lake and other towns were destroyed by the storms that hit in the middle of the night. Chairs, beds and clothes were strewn about yards, with debris hanging from trees. Some homes were tossed from their foundations, while others had their roofs ripped off. Residents startled out of bed by the noise later came back to their homes, trying to look for friends or loved ones in the rubble and salvage anything that wasn't blown apart. "I'm not going to be able to live here, but it could have been worse," said Lady Lake trailer park resident Tammy Peace. "All of this can be replaced, but life can't be."
'They Came at the Worst Time'
Lake County spokesman Christopher Patton confirmed the 14 deaths to The Associated Press. Eleven deaths were reported in Paisley and three in Lady Lake, he said, both towns in Lake County about 50 miles northwest of Orlando. Two victims were teenagers, but no further details were available on the other fatalities. "The most dangerous tornado scenario is a threat for killer tornadoes at night, and that was the case," said Dave Sharp, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Melbourne. Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency for Volusia, Sumter, Lake and Seminole counties and planned to head to the area to handle his first natural disaster since taking office last month. State emergency manager Craig Fugate estimated that hundreds of homes were destroyed. "Our priority today is search and rescue," Crist told reporters in Tallahassee at the state Emergency Operations Center.
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He said he was in contact with the White House, but Fugate reassured Floridians that experience gained from the eight hurricanes to hit the state in 2004 and 2005 would help the response. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has offered assistance, including a damage team to go out with state and local crews. Lady Lake was one of the worst hit areas. The Lady Lake Church of God was demolished, its pews, altar and Bibles left in a jumbled, leveled mess. The 31-year-old, steel-reinforced structure was built to withstand 150-mph winds, the Rev. Larry Lynn said. By daybreak, parishioners gathered on the lot where the church once stood, hugging each other and consoling Lynn. They planned to clear the debris and hold Sunday services on the empty lot. "That's just the building, the people are the church. We'll be back bigger and stronger," Lynn said. Two of the 14 dead in Lake County were teenagers, a male freshman at Umatilla High School and a 17-year-old Leesburg High School female student who lived in Lady Lake, an official said. The names of the teens weren't released. Damage also was severe in The Villages retirement community, where Lee Shaver shielded his wife Irene with his body while huddling in a closet as the roof peeled off their home. Fence posts launched as projectiles were embedded into the wall of their home, Irene Shaver said. "Every muscle and bone in my body shook," said Lee Shaver, 54. "We don't know what to do. We have no cell phones, wallets, IDs." In Volusia County, more than 100 homes were damaged in New Smyrna Beach and 10 people were transported to hospitals countywide with injuries, officials said. A county medical clinic in DeLand was severely damaged, officials said. "We heard a big boom then we heard the freight-train noise. All five of us got in the closet," said Linda Craig, 44, who lives in Hontoon Island, a heavily damaged area of Volusia County. Many homes were turned into rubble along Lake Mack. Vern Huber, 87, said his weather radio went off around 3:30 a.m. and he and his wife, Louedna, 81, huddled in the hall and put pillows from the couch on top of themselves. "It was a deafening roar," Huber said. The storms moved across portions of Sumter and Lake counties about 3:15 a.m. and then headed to Volusia County, said Peggy Glitto, another weather service meteorologist in Melbourne. Forecasters started issuing tornado warnings for central Florida around midnight, but by midday, the tornado threat had diminished significantly, Sharp said. "I can say with high confidence that it's tornado damage. It's not straight-line wind damage," Sharp said. At least five separate crashes took place within a quarter mile of each other near Interstate 4's New Smyrna Beach exit, shutting the highway down for about three hours. The most serious one was when a semitrailer was lifted up and landed on another semi, pinning the driver in his cab, said Kim Miller, a spokeswoman with the Florida Highway Patrol. The driver didn't suffer life-threatening injuries. Exit signs along the highway were torn down and uprooted trees lay along the road, Miller said. About 10,000 customers were without power across a wide swath of central Florida, Progress Energy spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs said. But repair crews were already out restoring service as the storms passed. Florida Power & Light reported about 200 customers were without power in the DeLand area. The state's Department of Emergency Management already had crews in the area for an unrelated event that are now being used to help, spokesman Mike Stone said. Several counties opened shelters for those who lost their homes. Friday's storms were reminiscent of past tornados during years where El Nino was a weather factor. In February 1998, five twisters hit near Orlando over two days, killing 42 people and damaging or destroying about 2,600 homes and businesses, according to the National Weather Service. It was Florida's deadliest tornado event on record. Associated Press reporters Curt Anderson, Damian Grass, Suzette Laboy, Stephen Majors, Adrian Sainz and Ron Word contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-02-02 10:36:05
Source: http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/
By JIM ELLIS
AP
LADY LAKE, Fla. (Feb. 2) - At least 14 people were killed early Friday as severe thunderstorms and at least one tornado struck central Florida, flattening hundreds of homes and a church, causing power outages and lifting a tractor trailer into the air, officials said.
Jump Below: Watch VideoWeather Resources:Local Seven-Day ForecastNational Severe Weather Alert MapNational Doppler Radar MapTalk About It: Post Thoughts
The tornado appeared to be the deadliest to hit Florida since 1998. Dozens of mobile homes in a 20-square-mile area of Lady Lake and other towns were destroyed by the storms that hit in the middle of the night. Chairs, beds and clothes were strewn about yards, with debris hanging from trees. Some homes were tossed from their foundations, while others had their roofs ripped off. Residents startled out of bed by the noise later came back to their homes, trying to look for friends or loved ones in the rubble and salvage anything that wasn't blown apart. "I'm not going to be able to live here, but it could have been worse," said Lady Lake trailer park resident Tammy Peace. "All of this can be replaced, but life can't be."
'They Came at the Worst Time'
Lake County spokesman Christopher Patton confirmed the 14 deaths to The Associated Press. Eleven deaths were reported in Paisley and three in Lady Lake, he said, both towns in Lake County about 50 miles northwest of Orlando. Two victims were teenagers, but no further details were available on the other fatalities. "The most dangerous tornado scenario is a threat for killer tornadoes at night, and that was the case," said Dave Sharp, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Melbourne. Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency for Volusia, Sumter, Lake and Seminole counties and planned to head to the area to handle his first natural disaster since taking office last month. State emergency manager Craig Fugate estimated that hundreds of homes were destroyed. "Our priority today is search and rescue," Crist told reporters in Tallahassee at the state Emergency Operations Center.
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He said he was in contact with the White House, but Fugate reassured Floridians that experience gained from the eight hurricanes to hit the state in 2004 and 2005 would help the response. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has offered assistance, including a damage team to go out with state and local crews. Lady Lake was one of the worst hit areas. The Lady Lake Church of God was demolished, its pews, altar and Bibles left in a jumbled, leveled mess. The 31-year-old, steel-reinforced structure was built to withstand 150-mph winds, the Rev. Larry Lynn said. By daybreak, parishioners gathered on the lot where the church once stood, hugging each other and consoling Lynn. They planned to clear the debris and hold Sunday services on the empty lot. "That's just the building, the people are the church. We'll be back bigger and stronger," Lynn said. Two of the 14 dead in Lake County were teenagers, a male freshman at Umatilla High School and a 17-year-old Leesburg High School female student who lived in Lady Lake, an official said. The names of the teens weren't released. Damage also was severe in The Villages retirement community, where Lee Shaver shielded his wife Irene with his body while huddling in a closet as the roof peeled off their home. Fence posts launched as projectiles were embedded into the wall of their home, Irene Shaver said. "Every muscle and bone in my body shook," said Lee Shaver, 54. "We don't know what to do. We have no cell phones, wallets, IDs." In Volusia County, more than 100 homes were damaged in New Smyrna Beach and 10 people were transported to hospitals countywide with injuries, officials said. A county medical clinic in DeLand was severely damaged, officials said. "We heard a big boom then we heard the freight-train noise. All five of us got in the closet," said Linda Craig, 44, who lives in Hontoon Island, a heavily damaged area of Volusia County. Many homes were turned into rubble along Lake Mack. Vern Huber, 87, said his weather radio went off around 3:30 a.m. and he and his wife, Louedna, 81, huddled in the hall and put pillows from the couch on top of themselves. "It was a deafening roar," Huber said. The storms moved across portions of Sumter and Lake counties about 3:15 a.m. and then headed to Volusia County, said Peggy Glitto, another weather service meteorologist in Melbourne. Forecasters started issuing tornado warnings for central Florida around midnight, but by midday, the tornado threat had diminished significantly, Sharp said. "I can say with high confidence that it's tornado damage. It's not straight-line wind damage," Sharp said. At least five separate crashes took place within a quarter mile of each other near Interstate 4's New Smyrna Beach exit, shutting the highway down for about three hours. The most serious one was when a semitrailer was lifted up and landed on another semi, pinning the driver in his cab, said Kim Miller, a spokeswoman with the Florida Highway Patrol. The driver didn't suffer life-threatening injuries. Exit signs along the highway were torn down and uprooted trees lay along the road, Miller said. About 10,000 customers were without power across a wide swath of central Florida, Progress Energy spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs said. But repair crews were already out restoring service as the storms passed. Florida Power & Light reported about 200 customers were without power in the DeLand area. The state's Department of Emergency Management already had crews in the area for an unrelated event that are now being used to help, spokesman Mike Stone said. Several counties opened shelters for those who lost their homes. Friday's storms were reminiscent of past tornados during years where El Nino was a weather factor. In February 1998, five twisters hit near Orlando over two days, killing 42 people and damaging or destroying about 2,600 homes and businesses, according to the National Weather Service. It was Florida's deadliest tornado event on record. Associated Press reporters Curt Anderson, Damian Grass, Suzette Laboy, Stephen Majors, Adrian Sainz and Ron Word contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-02-02 10:36:05
Source: http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/
P.S. By day's end, 19 deaths were reported due to the tornados.
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