FORT MYERS, Fla. (WSVN) – Residents of a Fort Myers community are picking up the pieces in the wake of a destructive tornado touchdown, one of at least seven that swept through parts of Southwest Florida.
The tornadoes churned up debris and caused panic and heavy destruction, spanning from Collier County to Lee County, Sunday morning.
On Windcrest Drive, in the Iona McGregor neighborhood of Fort Myers, several mobile homes were ripped from their foundations and tossed down the road.
The street was littered with piles of mangled rubble and debris.
Among those whose homes sustained damage was Roger Ratigan.
“This happened so fast, it was just unbelievable,” he said. “We were watching the news, and we thought that it was going to come, but it came hard and it came fast.”
The tornado wreaked havoc just feet from where Skip Harris lives. He said he knew exactly what to do before it touched down.
“I saw the twister coming our way. I saw debris and everything, yelled at my wife, ‘Get dressed and head to our shelter,'” he said, “and within 10 seconds, I heard it hit, and glass was flying and all that stuff.”
“This whole half of the house, we had a roof, just like that,” said another resident.
Shreds of siding lined the street and were seen hanging from trees.
Now that the storms have passed, neighbors have been able to survey the damage and begin to clean up.
One resident was seen sweeping water from inside what was left of her home.
The National Weather Service confirmed an EF2 tornado touched down in the neighborhood with winds topping out around 118 miles per hour.
“It was at least at first about 50-mile-an-hour winds, and then, boom, it just hit,” said Harris. “Things were going nuts.”
His neighbor, 81-year-old Edward Murray, said the strong winds picked up his mobile home and flipped it upside down with him still inside.
Murray said he was in the kitchen when the storm hit.
“I jumped up from the table, and the wind just took me off my feet and blew me against the wall, and I got trapped under a thousand pounds of garbage,” he said.
The damage to Murray’s home is catastrophic. After the tornado dropped it like a toy, its plumbing and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system were exposed.
Trees near the mobile home community were strewn across roadways and even ended up inside some houses.
Resident Victor Paturzo said he was also in the path of destruction.
“I saw debris starting to circle, and it was coming right at me,” he said. “Like everyone says, it sounded like a freight train, and it was all over in about 5 to 10 seconds, and I got out of there, and I opened the door, and my stairs were out in the middle of the street, and the others in the rear were in my driveway.”
Resident Mary Haupt said she later returned to her now stair-less home to assess the damage.
“We got here just before nightfall, so luckily I could see to get in,” she said, “and I got in with the ladder here and got in the house and started lighting candles and trying to asses the damage. There’s lots of broken glass.”
The tornado also caused extensive damage at another mobile home park a short distance away.
The rain caused major issues throughout the area as well, as first responders blocked off areas, and neighbors tried to clear roadways and clean up as quickly as possible.
South of Fort Myers, in Collier County, people spotted a funnel cloud sweeping across Marco Island.
Another tornado was spotted from a mobile home community in Naples. Law enforcement officers tried to stop people before they drove into the path of danger.
Cellphone video recorded by an officer captured the chaotic conditions.
“Shut down 41 and Collier right now. It’s getting ready to cross over 41, stand by. It’s going over, it looks like Wawa,” the officer is heard saying in the video.
One driver felt the impact along Alligator Alley. A Walmart tractor-trailer was tossed onto its side near a toll booth.
As for Harris, although he too has some rebuilding to do, he said it’s nothing compared to the countless others who are suffering and homeless.
“Our house is intact inside, a few blemishes outside, lost some siding, lost the carport part of the roof,” he said, “but other than that, we’re fine, just need electricity. I’m not worried about that, it’s my neighbors, they are really devastated.”
As residents of this tight-knit community in Fort Myers work to rebuild their homes, they said getting things back to what they once were will take some time.
“That’s just a miracle, to be honest with you. Houses flipping over, and nobody got hurt,” said resident Jeff Grosh. “There was a supply shortage before all this with materials, and now imagine getting all the stuff we need. It’s going to be months or years.”
Power is slowly being restored in the areas affected. The American Red Cross is assisting residents who were impacted.
As of Monday night, authorities have not reported any serious injuries or deaths as a result of the storms.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.