Multiple people were killed after more than a dozen powerful tornadoes associated with Hurricane Milton ripped through parts of Florida Wednesday, authorities said.
Milton proved fatal before making landfall Wednesday night when twisters within the storm’s outer bands struck a senior community in St. Lucie County.
Sheriff Keith Pearson said “multiple fatalities” were reported at the Spanish Lakes Country Club in Fort Pierce, according to reports.
It’s unclear how many were killed and how many might have been injured.
Pearson told WPTV deputies are going door to door and “listening for life” during the multi-agency rescue effort.
“Our No. 1 goal is life safety,” he added. “We want to get to anybody who might be trapped underneath the rubble or trapped in these situations and get them out safely.”
Pearson told Fox Weather that 17 tornadoes hit the county with hundreds of homes ruined.
Earlier in the day he posted a video on the sheriff department’s Facebook page that showed a steel storage building at the sheriff’s department knocked over by a tornado as he pleaded with residents to stay indoors.
“Completely gone in a matter of seconds,” he said.
No deputies were injured in the 10,000 square-foot structure collapse.
A tornado was also spotted an hour south in Palm Beach County tearing through power lines, according to footage posted on social media.
In what appeared like a scene out of a movie, cars fled from the twister as a light – possibly a transformer blowing – flashed in the background in the village of Wellington.
First responders rushed five people to hospitals, including three to trauma centers in the county while responding to multiple reports of tornadoes in the area, the Palm Beach Post reported.
People were trapped under rubble or in overturned cars from the strong gusts, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue reportedly said.
One resident told the newspaper a tornado pulled off six windows, damaged their roof and toppled palm trees in their neighborhood.
“I’ve never seen something like this,” Marie Cook said.
Hurricane Milton, at one point a Category 5 storm over the ocean, made landfall on Florida’s west coast Wednesday night.
The storm, which weakened to a Category storm after landfall, brought more than 100 mph winds, heavy rain and life-threatening storm surge, leaving about 2 million customers without power.
In the days leading up to Milton, officials warned residents to evacuate or face possible death if they attempted to ride out the storm.
