Tornadoes spawned by Milton led to widespread rescue effort in Palm Beach County; people freed from rubble

Bill Kearney, Juan Ortega and Angie DiMichele, South Florida Sun Sentinel on Oct 10, 2024

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Firefighters rushed to free people trapped in rubble in Palm Beach County on Wednesday after a tornado spawned by Hurricane Milton left a trail of destruction in the region.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue says at least 40 units of firefighters went to help people Wednesday afternoon while one of the tornadoes still was circulating in the Deer Path Lane area of Wellington, and near Northlake and Coconut Boulevards in the Acreage and Loxahatchee areas. Fire rescue said 911 calls started coming in just before 5 p.m. and continued for more than 50 minutes. Firefighters said they pulled many people to safety from damaged buildings and vehicles.

“Some were trapped under rubble or stuck in overturned vehicles tossed by the strong winds,” according to a news release from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. “Our Special Operations Team conducted a technical rescue to free one person from an overturned RV.”

Two Palm Beach County tornadoes, which hit miles from each other and may have run nearly parallel tracks, are among seven across southern Florida whose paths are shown in a graphic released Thursday morning by the National Weather Service in Miami. Videos and photos were used to confirm five of the seven tornadoes, according to the weather service, which indicated the tornadoes’ tracks were based on preliminary information.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue took five people, including three trauma patients, to a hospital. They also treated many more people who walked up to them for minor injuries. “Our crews on the scene reported several damaged homes, vehicles picked up and moved, and debris all over the area,” fire rescue said.

Tornadoes across the state

Across the state, at least 19 tornadoes were confirmed, and there were more than 100 tornado warnings issued through the day, Gov. Ron DeSantis at a news conference late Wednesday.

“Regardless of the winds from the storm directly, we’ve already seen probably more tornado watches than I’ve ever seen. … No one remembers ever seeing this many tornado warnings that have been done,” DeSantis said.

Multiple people died after tornadoes struck a country club in Fort Pierce, reports said.

WPBF-Ch. 25 reported late Wednesday that St. Lucie County officials said there were multiple deaths after tornadoes in the Spanish Lakes Community in Fort Pierce. Sheriff Keith Pearson told WPTV-Ch. 5 that it was unclear how many people died and that rescuers were searching house to house.

Rescuing residents

About 5 p.m. in Palm Beach County, a “large and extremely dangerous” tornado was confirmed traveling over The Acreage, about 8 miles north of Wellington, moving north at 40 mph. Areas affected include Palm Beach Gardens, Royal Palm Beach, The Acreage and Loxahatchee Groves.

WPTV-Ch. 5 showed footage from the Wellington area of damaged residences, as well as trees that were knocked down.

The tornado struck the home of Calvin Cearley Sr., who lives in the Preserve at Binks Forest in Wellington.

“I was watching television and the news said there was a tornado reported in the Wellington area,” Cearley told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Wednesday. “About that time, my boy called and said, ‘Hey, there’s a tornado coming towards you.’ Just as he said that, my back yard exploded. It sounded like a bomb going off.”

He said the tornado ran through his backyard, causing damage. “It tore my screen off my pool, tore up a bunch of trees, tore up tile off my roof, tore a toolshed up, and tore trees down out in front of the house.”

The National Hurricane Center reported that Milton spawned a “tornadic supercell,” with at least one tornado on the ground early Wednesday near Alligator Alley in the Everglades. A supercell thunderstorm is one that generates rotating updrafts that can grow into tornadoes.

The National Weather Service issued repeated tornado warnings for areas of South Florida, including parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties throughout the day. “This is a particularly dangerous situation,” the weather service warned. “A large and extremely dangerous tornado is on the ground. Take immediate tornado precautions. This is an emergency situation.”

WPEC-Ch. 12 showed footage of damage in a community in Palm Beach Gardens, with police officers walking past debris near a residential road, assessing what happened.

About 10 a.m. Wednesday, the National Weather Service posted footage of a tornado that traveled north near Alligator Alley just east of Big Cypress Wildlife Management area. Some tornadoes were spotted along or near Alligator Alley (I-75) and north to areas around Lake Okeechobee. There also was a tornado reported in Florida City and Homestead in Miami-Dade County.

The weather service said in its warnings that the tornado threat to South Florida would remain well into Thursday as Milton exits the east coast near Melbourne.