- November 20, 2024
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Palm Coast residents are rebuilding from the city’s first tornado on record since its incorporation in 1999. It was an EF1 storm that caused an estimated $5,355,611 in damage Saturday evening, destroying seven homes and damaging more than 160.
“There were over 1.5 miles of continuous destruction in the B-section and into the F-section,” Flagler County Emergency Management Division Chief Kevin Guthrie said at a Palm Coast City Council meeting Tuesday morning. “If you go about a mile north of Palm Coast exit on I-95, you will see where the tornado literally cut through the middle of the interstate.”
Altogether, he said, there were more than nine miles of touchdown. No one was injured.
Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts declared a state of local emergency Monday, a move that will allow the city to apply for state and federal assistance, implement a special debris collection schedule and access other government resources. The state of emergency will last seven days and can be ended or extended.
Saturday’s tornado originated in Espanola, according to a statement from the National Weather Service’s Jacksonville office, and it touched town in the B-section before tracking northeast, weakening as it went along. The storm was about 75-100 yards wide when it touched down near Bannbury Lane then narrowed to 25-50 yards across as it moved though the F-section and the Hammock.
But this wasn’t Palm Coast’s first tornado. A tornado also struck in April 1982, Flagler Emergency Management Technician Bob Pickering said, and two struck on March 14, 1986.
“Since 1970, since they started recording tornadoes, there have been 23 recorded tornadoes in Flagler County,” he said. “And that’s probably been underreported.”
One of the 1986 tornadoes threw air conditioning units off of buildings in the industrial park, and the 1982 storm left a track from the Interstate 95 truck weigh station to The Woodlands that was visible from the air,until it was obliterated by wildfires in 1985, Pickering said.
Florida is No. 3 in the nation for tornadoes, with only Texas and Oklahoma having more per year. But Florida storms are usually weaker, Pickering said.
“Two thunderstorms merging together caused that to happen (Saturday),” he said. “The tornado was moving at about 45 mph, and it was rain-wrapped. Even if it was daylight, people probably wouldn’t have seen it because it was in the rain core of the storm.”
Florida’s tornado season is year-round, Pickering said, and the strongest tornadoes often form at night in winter and spring.
Federal Emergency Management Agency employees are expected to arrive in Palm Coast by 9 a.m. Thursday morning to help residents recover from the storm, but people on the hardest-hit streets in the B-, C- and F-sections are already picking up the pieces.
Here’s a look at what they saw when the storm hit.
Farriston Place
Giorgetta Scollo was in her house in Palm Coast’s Farriston Place when her back exterior motion sensor lights switched on and she caught a glimpse of the storm bearing down on her home.
She ran for an interior closet and huddled down to wait it out. When she emerged, the roof had collapsed in three places, littering the home with insulation.
“There’s still a bedroom. I can still cook. This is home,” she said as her daughter tried to convince her to leave.
Scollo agreed to stay with family — at least until her home can be assessed by building inspectors who will determine if it’s safe — but she’s anxious to start cleaning up the damage.
After the fire trucks left Saturday night, and the exposed roof was covered with tarps, Scollo and her children and grandchildren walked through rooms gathering valuables and photographs in case the remainder of the roof collapsed with the rain forecast for the rest of the night.
Bayside Drive
Joe LaPlante was sitting on his back patio with a friend when the sky darkened.
“I just heard the wind and felt the pressure change,” he said. His friend heard the telltale approaching-train roar of the storm, and both men went inside. About 10 seconds later, LaPlante said, a tree trunk crashed into the patio where they’d been sitting.
“He would have had that tree dead center in the middle of his chest,” LaPlante said, pointing at the sharp-edged trunk pointing into his patio chair.
Sunday morning, LaPlante’s yard was littered with the limbs — and trunks — of maple trees and pine trees. A pine tree trunk about a foot in diameter had dropped sharp end down onto the top of his air conditioning unit, piercing it.
“It just happened to cut right through there, and the back of my house got the brunt of it, I think.” “My cell phone’s back in there,” he said pointing to a mountain of debris in what had been his living room.”It is a mess in that house, man.”
Cimmaron Drive
Palm Coast was busy with its annual holiday parade when skies turned dark.
The rain started, and a group of 20 or 30 people gathered for a house party on Cimmaron Drive. That’s when it got spooky.
“The tornado warning went off on our phones at the same time,” according to Pat Block, a Cimmaron resident.
A few people debated what to do. One left to go check on her dog.
Then, Block said, “The next thing we knew, we heard the roar.”
Bob Updegrave was also at the party, and he saw the winds first-hand. It was too dark to see a funnel cloud, but he said there was a vacuum. “It was enough to take your breath away,” he said.
“The debris was just coming laterally across the backyard and the front yard, banging off the house and vehicles,” he continued.
Within 15 seconds or so, the roar ended, and the wind died down. When things settled, it was clear: The house across the street, at 102 Cimmaron, was missing a lanai. The aluminum supports had been swept into the air and were flying in the neighborhood. The owners are snowbirds.
Although Updegrave lived in the Midwest for years, he says he has never been this close to a tornado.
And, to highlight the arbitrary nature of the damage, he noted that the Christmas lights on his house appeared untouched by the winds.
“Across the canal from me, two houses on Cedardale lost their lanais,” said Susan Blake, the woman who left to check on her dog. “The glass flew out of the back window of truck. ... The whole street is black.”
Recovering from a tornado: Palm Coast officials’ advice
Contractors
The city has asked residents to choose carefully when selecting a contractor. State law requires homeowners to choose contractors who are properly licensed, and all contractors should have their license number printed on their business cards, contracts and vehicles. Ask to see a license number and proof of worker’s compensation insurance then call Palm Coast’s Building Department at 986-3780 to verify the license.
Debris pickup
City employees will be working daily to collect debris in affected areas in the B, C and F sections.
The city has asked residents to call the city’s customer service number at 986-2360 if debris isn’t picked up in a timely manner.
Volunteering and donating
Want to pitch in with the recovery effort?
Flagler County Volunteer Services is coordinating volunteers and donations.
To help out, call 597-2950 between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
BOX: Palm Coast tornado fast facts
Rating: EF1
Wind speed: Up to 110 mph
Width: 25-150 yards
Estimated total damage: $5,355,611
Houses destroyed: 7
Houses with moderate damage: 22
Houses partially damaged: 142
Areas affected: B-section, C-section, F-section
Homes without power:
initially about 6,000 after tornado struck at 7 p.m. Saturday
2,733 by 10 p.m. Saturday
about 50 by 9 a.m. Sunday
power restored to all but severely damaged homes by Sunday afternoon
Stay in the know
Flagler County residents who would like to receive tornado warnings can sign up for alerts at flagleremergency.com or purchase a weather-alert radio.
People who need help programming their weather radio can contact Bob Pickering at 313-4250.
