Utter disaster is the aftermath of a pair of tornadoes that ripped through parts of Fort Pierce Wednesday, on the eastern-most edge of Hurricane Milton.
Chopper 6 flew high above the Spanish Lakes mobile home community where at least five people were killed. First responders went from one home to another checking on people and surveying the damage.
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Just a few blocks away on Turnpike Feeder Road, Mohammed Chowehury stood inside what was left of his convenience store. The tornado destroyed everything. He is just thankful his staff got out in time.
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“He closed and locked the store and after five minutes that he left, the tornado hit,” said Chowehury. “You have to accept it, there’s no other way.”
“It was really close so I took my 8-year-old son, he was crying, and I told him to go in the middle of the house where there are no windows. A few minutes later it was the worst thing to see, the houses. The roofs are gone, windows are out, trees are everywhere,” said Cherlene Joseph-Dorlean.
Joseph-Dorlean was stunned to see the tornado tossed her husband’s semi-truck into the road like a toy truck.
“Our semi that was parked there, is now there,” she said pointing from one end of the parking lot to the road. “It’s a total loss, a total loss.”
Emergency crews worked overnight to move two semi-trucks from the road.
Saint Lucie County officials say more than 100 homes are destroyed or seriously damaged. Temporary shelters are open for those whose homes were lost.
“It’s a tragic thing because it’s not like they should’ve evacuated, what do you do when you have a tornado? You duck and cover, it happens so quickly. Those things are really strong and powerful,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis.
