Alexandre Aguiar
Fox News is reporting now that severe storms caused an unknown number of fatalities in Central Florida. AP just reported the same:
An unknown number of people were killed early Friday as severe thunderstorms struck central Florida, damaging homes and causing power outages, officials said. A dispatcher at the Lake County Sheriff's Office confirmed that there had been fatalities. The woman, who would not give her name, said that damage had included "every kind of damage you can think of."
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/16606634.htm
From the Orlando Sentinel:
A severe line of thunderstorms and tornados overnight across Volusia and Lake counties has shut down I-4 in both directions, caused severe accidents and shut down power to thousands of Central Florida residents.
Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller said tornadoes and severe weather caused wrecks on Interstate 4 near State Road 44 in DeLand involving five tractor trailers and two vehicles. Three people were taken to the hospital , but none of their injuries are believed to be life-threatening.
EVAC Ambulance spokesman Mark O'Keefe said paramedics currently are working 50 trauma, medical and injury calls in that area.
All westbound lanes of I-4 remain closed, but one lane of eastbound has reopened. Miller said trees have snapped and fallen on the roadway and some of the semis are overturned on the highway.
"We want to get these trucks off the road as soon as possible," she said. FHP crews hope to have the roadway open by 7 a.m. Debris on State Road 44 near the interstate also caused another semi-truck to wreck, Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said. FHP also reports there is debris in the roadway on U.S. Highway 17-92 near Spring Garden Avenue and that a tree has fallen onto Interstate 95 in the southbound lanes near mile marker 251 in New Smyrna Beach.
Three Seminole County Fire/Rescue transport-capable rescue units were dispatched to Lake County at 4:45 a.m. for a "mass casualty incident," according to officials.
Deputies from the Lake County Sheriff's Office had set up a command post at the Villages, the massive retirement community that encompasses parts of Lake, Marion and Sumter counties, where a tornado hit earlier this morning, said department spokeswoman Christie Mysinger.
"We have several unconfirmed fatalities and many injuries, structural damage to homes, trees and power lines down in roads," Mysinger said. "We are asking residents to stay in their homes if they don?t have to be on the roads. If they must be on the roads, please use main roads and not back roads due to the debris."
Mysinger added that deputies were also checking reports of a possible tornado in the eastern corner of Lake, where it meets with Volusia and Seminole counties. That east Eustis-Deland area hadn't been inspected yet.
More than 20,000 customers were without power in the swath between Marion and Volusia counties, including the cities of Leesburg and DeLand, said Progress Energy spokesperson Cherie Jacobs.
Crews were on scene overnight trying to restore electricity but could not work in the high winds. No timetable was set for when power could be back on. Volusia 911 dispatchers have received several calls reporting multiple tornadoes in the DeLand area with serious debris and many power outages, officials said. There is also a report of damage in Lady Lake. The National Weather Service earlier reported that a tornado touched down at Lake Ashby.
Schools in Volusia County will remain open, officials said.
"There may be some delays with buses," spokeswoman Nancy Wait said. "We just ask that parents use their judgment as far as safety in the area."
Reports of serious wind damage in Orange City. Power lines are snapped over the highway at 17-92, billboards have been knocked down and vehicles have been damaged. Officials report no storm-related calls currently in the Deltona area, but rescue workers there are assisting in the DeLand area at mobile home parks, searching for occupants and injuries. In Seminole County, authorities are checking for wind damage and trying to determine if a tornado indicated on radar touched down just before 6 a.m., north of downtown Oviedo and continuing northeast over Geneva.
Expect scattered showers and thunderstorms moving east from Lake to Volusia with some brief heavy rains and gusty winds through 7 a.m. Flooding on roadways is possible.
An unknown number of people were killed early Friday as severe thunderstorms struck central Florida, damaging homes and causing power outages, officials said. A dispatcher at the Lake County Sheriff's Office confirmed that there had been fatalities. The woman, who would not give her name, said that damage had included "every kind of damage you can think of."
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/16606634.htm
From the Orlando Sentinel:
A severe line of thunderstorms and tornados overnight across Volusia and Lake counties has shut down I-4 in both directions, caused severe accidents and shut down power to thousands of Central Florida residents.
Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller said tornadoes and severe weather caused wrecks on Interstate 4 near State Road 44 in DeLand involving five tractor trailers and two vehicles. Three people were taken to the hospital , but none of their injuries are believed to be life-threatening.
EVAC Ambulance spokesman Mark O'Keefe said paramedics currently are working 50 trauma, medical and injury calls in that area.
All westbound lanes of I-4 remain closed, but one lane of eastbound has reopened. Miller said trees have snapped and fallen on the roadway and some of the semis are overturned on the highway.
"We want to get these trucks off the road as soon as possible," she said. FHP crews hope to have the roadway open by 7 a.m. Debris on State Road 44 near the interstate also caused another semi-truck to wreck, Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said. FHP also reports there is debris in the roadway on U.S. Highway 17-92 near Spring Garden Avenue and that a tree has fallen onto Interstate 95 in the southbound lanes near mile marker 251 in New Smyrna Beach.
Three Seminole County Fire/Rescue transport-capable rescue units were dispatched to Lake County at 4:45 a.m. for a "mass casualty incident," according to officials.
Deputies from the Lake County Sheriff's Office had set up a command post at the Villages, the massive retirement community that encompasses parts of Lake, Marion and Sumter counties, where a tornado hit earlier this morning, said department spokeswoman Christie Mysinger.
"We have several unconfirmed fatalities and many injuries, structural damage to homes, trees and power lines down in roads," Mysinger said. "We are asking residents to stay in their homes if they don?t have to be on the roads. If they must be on the roads, please use main roads and not back roads due to the debris."
Mysinger added that deputies were also checking reports of a possible tornado in the eastern corner of Lake, where it meets with Volusia and Seminole counties. That east Eustis-Deland area hadn't been inspected yet.
More than 20,000 customers were without power in the swath between Marion and Volusia counties, including the cities of Leesburg and DeLand, said Progress Energy spokesperson Cherie Jacobs.
Crews were on scene overnight trying to restore electricity but could not work in the high winds. No timetable was set for when power could be back on. Volusia 911 dispatchers have received several calls reporting multiple tornadoes in the DeLand area with serious debris and many power outages, officials said. There is also a report of damage in Lady Lake. The National Weather Service earlier reported that a tornado touched down at Lake Ashby.
Schools in Volusia County will remain open, officials said.
"There may be some delays with buses," spokeswoman Nancy Wait said. "We just ask that parents use their judgment as far as safety in the area."
Reports of serious wind damage in Orange City. Power lines are snapped over the highway at 17-92, billboards have been knocked down and vehicles have been damaged. Officials report no storm-related calls currently in the Deltona area, but rescue workers there are assisting in the DeLand area at mobile home parks, searching for occupants and injuries. In Seminole County, authorities are checking for wind damage and trying to determine if a tornado indicated on radar touched down just before 6 a.m., north of downtown Oviedo and continuing northeast over Geneva.
Expect scattered showers and thunderstorms moving east from Lake to Volusia with some brief heavy rains and gusty winds through 7 a.m. Flooding on roadways is possible.
