- May 2, 2024
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Al Leonardi (left) lives in the C-section. He came over to help his best friend, Rich Bewsher (right), clean up his home after the tornado. Photo by Sierra Williams
Jeff Erney said his friend's family were devastated when they saw the tree that had fallen across their lanai. Photo by Sierra Williams
Mayor David Alfin (right) and City Manager Denise Bevan and Assistant City Manager Lauren Johnston survey the damage of one home that lost its roof. Photo courtesy of the PCFD
Ron Helton said he found both his generator and his lawn mower tossed upside down in his side yard that morning and his covered porch area knocked over. Photo by Sierra Williams
Rich Bewsher, of Barrington Drive, woke up to find his air conditioning unit destroyed, his gas grill thrown into the pool and his neighbor’s trampoline tossed against the lanai. Photo by Sierra Williams
Several trees were ripped in two or had branches broken off from the tornado. Photo by Sierra Williams
Ron Helton's mother planted this tree years ago, he said. Now, Helton will have to have it cut down for safety. Photo by Sierra Williams
Wayne Roether, on the corner of Barring Place, and his dismantled fence. Photo by Sierra Williams
Mayor David Alfin and PCFD Lt. Patrick Juliano touring the B-section after the tornado. Photo courtesy of the PCFD
A EF2 tornado touched down at around 4:45 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 12 in the Palm Coast B-Section. Photo courtesy of Palm Coast's Facebook page
Several homes in the Indian Trails neighborhood had severe structural damage. Photo courtesy of the city of Palm Coast
Paul Revis, a resident on Barrington Drive, broke up several branches in his and his neighbor's swales. "Compared to everyone else, we came out okay," he said. Photo by Sierra Williams
Rich Bewsher, of Barrington Drive, woke up to find his air conditioning unit destroyed, his gas grill thrown into the pool and his neighbor’s trampoline tossed against the lanai. Photo by Sierra Williams
Wayne Roether's neighbor's fence was blown over into his backyard. Photo by Sierra Williams
Wayne Roether lives on the corner of Barring Place. The panels of his white fence were ripped down and strewn across several streets by the tornado. Photo by Sierra Williams
Members of the Palm Coast Fire Department who responded to the EF2 tornado on Oct. 12. Photo courtesy of the PCFD
Several homes in the B-section had damage to their roofs from the wind and debris. Photo by Sierra Williams
A mailbox on Barring Place with a downed power line wrapped around the box next to an overflowing swale. Photo by Sierra Williams
Rich Bewsher, of Barrington Drive, had several downed trees and tree limbs across his yard. Photo by Sierra Williams
Wayne Roether lives on the corner of Barring Place. The panels of his white fence were ripped down and strewn across several streets by the tornado. Photo by Sierra Williams
Wayne Roether, on Barring Place, had several debris in his backyard, including part of his neighbor's patio screen. Photo by Sierra Williams
Ron Helton lost most of his fence's panels and had damage to his roof and several trees around his yard. Photo by Sierra Williams
Residents woke up on Oct. 12 to find fences completely torn down and debris strewn about their yards. Photo by Sierra Williams
The National Weather Service in Jacksonville Florida confirmed that a 115 mph EF2 tornado touched down in the B-section of Palm Coast in the early hours of Oct. 12.
One home had its roof entirely ripped off while other homes sustained “major structural damage,” according to Palm Coast Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill. Miraculously, no one was injured as the tornado tore a mile-long, 200-yard-wide path through the B-Section near Indian Trails path.
“We have several families that have experienced catastrophic property loss,” Berryhill said at a press conference. “Our hearts go out to them.”
We have several families that have experienced catastrophic property loss. Our hearts go out to them." — Kyle Berryhill, PCFD Fire Chief
The tornado touched down around 4:45 a.m. Berryhill said in a press conference early on Oct. 12 that the damage from the storm was contained to that B-section neighborhood, between Belle Terre Parkway and Interstate 95.
The tornado damaged roofs, tossed cars, downed power lines, scattered debris and left behind flooded drain systems, Berryhill said.
“The most important thing is the lives of our citizens,” Berryhill said. “And those lives seem to be in pretty good shape.”
Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said around 40 homes sustained some form of damage, from downed fences to a missing roof. The Red Cross joined Flagler County emergency response crews at 11 a.m. to help victims of the storm.
Lord said the tornado may have first touched down on the western side of the county near County Roads 302 and 75 and State Road 100. A lot of trees were downed in that area but there was no other property damage, he said.
The storm may have picked back up and then touched down again in the Barrington area, he said.
Lord said the county did not receive a tornado warning alert, but several severe thunderstorm warnings that included the possibility of tornadoes.
“They just form that quickly or, because, the way radars work, [the radars] don’t see everything,” he said. “So it was very good chance that it wasn't visible to the radar.”
Wayne Roether lives on the corner of Barring Place. He said he woke up sometime around 4:30 a.m. what sounded like his home being bombarded.
“It sounded like horses running across the roof,” Roether said.
Later on, he realized the noise was from the tornado uprooting his fence panels and hitting them against his roof. When he got out to look around, Roether found his neighbor’s wooden fence leaning into his back yard.
Roether’s fence panels had flown across his own yard, his neighbors’ and into the street several houses away.
Rich Bewsher, a few houses down on Barrington Drive, woke up to find his air conditioning unit destroyed, his gas grill thrown into the pool, several tree limbs fallen across his screened lanai and his neighbor’s trampoline tossed against the lanai.
“4:47 this morning,” he said. “I woke up because I heard this roar.”
He said he started to hear the crack and crunch of things falling and breaking. The wind started to sound like a train, Bewsher said, and he heard it get louder as it got closer and then fade as it went further away.
“The thing only lasted less than a minute,” he said. “People say it sounds like a train going through — and it really does.”
He said he and his wife did not lose power, except for when the power line for his air conditioner was ripped out of the wall and tripped the main breaker for the whole house. While he was able to flip the breaker again, he said it’ll be longer before his air conditioner is fixed.
The thing only lasted less than a minute. ... People say it sounds like a train going through — and it really does.” — Rich Bewsher, B-section resident
Emergency management established an assistance and pseudo-command center at the Parkview Church on Belle Terre Parkway for families impacted by the storm, Lord said. The county has since closed down emergency operations there, but if anyone is need of shelter because of storm damage, the church is still helping those find a hotel to stay at.
Lord said those in need can also call the Emergency Operations Center at 386-313-4200. The county can then connect residents impacted by the tornado with local organizations that can help.
Parkview Pastor Barry Peters said so far the church has only needed to help one family find a place to stay at a nearby hotel for a few days. He said they also helped reassure and connect families to resources.
Peters said Parkview will be leading a group out to the impacted neighborhood at around 9 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 13. They’re hoping to help finish with any clean up that might be needed.
“What can we do as a church? Well, let's just open our doors and so we're thankful we've been able to do that,” Peters said. “We’re just glad we can help out.”
Berryhill asked residents to use caution and assume all down power lines are live. Messing with downed power lines "could be fatal," he said
During the Thursday morning press conference, Sheriff Rick Staly asked people to stay out of the area for their own safety. He also warned potential criminals against visiting the area to steal from unattended homes or taking advantage of these families in need.
Staly said that despite the damage to these homes, the county was fortunate no lives were lost.
“We were really very fortunate,” he said. “When you look at what could have occurred … we were really very blessed and fortunate that is was not more severe.”
