INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A home vacant for about a week was the only house severely damaged by a tornado Tuesday evening. The roof was almost completely removed from the structure. Neighbors are still without power after a power pole was knocked down in the storm.
“She is so blessed they were not there,” neighbor Pam O’Neal said of the woman who was renting the home.
She and her family moved out just last week, O’Neal said. The house was empty.
Southeastern Indian River County had been under a tornado warning until 9:45 p.m. Tuesday. The tornado hit the home on 22nd Place SE around 9:30 p.m. No injuries were reported due to the storm or its related tornado.
Neighbor Al Beltran said he was watching TV when his ears started to pop. His girlfriend grabbed a mattress and hid in the bathtub, he said.
The worst of their damage was portions of their fence being knocked over.
Another neighbor’s metal shed was blown from the backyard and into the front, landing in a jumbled mess.
The O’Neals were watching Dancing with the Stars, they said, monitoring the severe weather with their weather radio and keeping tabs on the alerts on the television.
“When you start hearing the warnings, grab a flashlight,” Jimmy O’Neal said. They wished they had.
When the power went out, they were in complete darkness. And, in the rush to find a safe place, Pam O’Neal tripped over a bench.
The couple walked their property and their neighbor’s behind them, marveling at the damage done to just one home.
“This right here is a miracle,” Pam said, shaking her head in disbelief that only one home was severely damaged. “It really is.”
The O’Neals had wind chimes and hanging flower baskets around their house – not one was damaged or knocked off its hook.
By comparison, the vacant home next door lost most of its roof and a ceiling fan had been pulled up through what would have been the attic. The satellite dish attached to the side of the house as still there.
Aside from downed portions of fences and the power pole, the bulk of the damage from Tuesday night’s storm appeared to be debris from trees and shrubs strewn across roads and littering yards.