'Tore up everything': Florida homes damaged in severe thunderstorms, possible tornadoes
'Tore everything up': Storms slam Florida man's home
Rich Bewesher lives in Palm Coast, an area that was hit hard by severe storms overnight. He took FOX 35 on a tour of his home to survey the damage. Trees, twigs, and leaves were strewn across his yard. Someone's trampoline blew up against his outdoor porch. And his fence was blown down.
PALM COAST, Fla. - Rich Bewesher's home in Palm Coast was hit hard as severe thunderstorms – and possibly a tornado – slammed Central Florida early Thursday morning.
He took FOX 35 on a tour of his home as he surveyed all the damage and debris in his front yard, side yard, and backyard.
"It pretty much tore up everything back here," he said. He has multiple trees, twigs, and leaves scattered across his yard. A tree fell toward his house, hit the gutter, and the air conditioning unit.
His backyard fence was obliterated with plastic panels strewn across the grass. His neighbor's trampoline was blown through the fence and into his backyard, screened porch.
"I was asleep and I heard the wind. And It woke me up. And as I'm laying there, it's getting louder and louder. And it's like, ‘oh my god, this is a tornado coming through.’ And then you could hear the whistle."
"Everybody says oh, sounds like a train; yeah, it does. It sounds like a train coming through," he said. "It was really loud. It ripped right down through the center of here and tore up all this stuff. Then we started hearing the cracking and the crunching, and the trees falling and hitting the house."
Despite the damage and the extra cleanup duties, he's thankful and nor his wife were hurt.
Officials with Flagler County and the City of Palm Coast said there are multiple homes that suffered damage in the storms. It's not confirmed that a tornado touched down, but the National Weather Service will evaluate and conduct an investigation.
"We have several families that have experienced a catastrophic property loss, and our hearts go out to them this morning," Kyle Berryhill, fire chief of the Palm Coast Fire Department, said. "We have National Weather Service, Florida Department of Emergency Management, Flagler County Emergency Management staff helping to assess the damage and help us with our next steps so our community can make sure that everyone's safe, and then we can begin to recover."
Officials are asking the community to avoid storm-impacted areas due to the hazardous conditions that could pose a danger.