Created: 12/25/2006 10:16:36 AM 
Lake City Forecast | Weather Plus Streaming Video | Radar Loop
JACKSONVILLE, FL (AP) -- Cleanup began Tuesday across Florida and relief workers offered help after a band of storms damaged hundreds of homes where people celebrated Christmas.
At least two tornadoes touched down in the state on Monday as a squall line produced by a deep low pressure system moved across Florida and southeast Georgia from the Gulf of Mexico, dumping several inches of rain.
The National Weather Service in Jacksonville says this wasn't a surprise.
"This wasn't unexpected. We've had all the ingredients there many times this fall, but this is the first time this happened," said Steve Letro, with the National Weather Service. Minesh Patel lives where the tornado touched down in Lake City. He says all her heard was a deafening roar.
"Then it got all dark and gray and it was over after about a minute," said Patel.
He says he can't believe the difference in damage to his house and a house just two doors down.
"It could've veered this way. So it's really just luck of the draw, really. I hope our neighbors are okay. And I hope they can rebuild," said Patel.
And he says while he waits for his insurance company to come survey the damage, he's just grateful no one was hurt.
"We're just glad everyone's safe and no one was hurt. That was the first, main thing. And then this (the damage to his yard), we'll just deal with it," said Patel.
Judy Renn, with State Farm insurance, was out surveying the damage. She says no matter how far in advance you prepare, a lot of the damage control must be done after the storm. And she says she's been getting a steady stream of calls.
"They're basically coming in today just one after another. There are a lot of damages. We've seen a lot of downed trees, a lot of homes with shingles missing, siding, a lot of trees barracading cars. We've got a lot of exterior damage," said Renn.
One confirmed tornado hit the Daytona Beach area, where high winds tore portions of the roof from three apartment buildings and caused extensive damage to many of their 240 units. It was an F-2 tornado, which has winds of 113 mph to 157 mph. The wind also hurled an airplane through a building wall at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, causing a fire. About 50 other planes at the university were also damaged by winds that snapped off their wings and caused them to overturn. Estelle Hunter, 25, left five minutes before the winds uprooted a tree and slammed it through the roof of her home in the area. She tried to salvage some of her possessions from the rubble. "It's all gone," she said. "All of my baby's Christmas presents are under water." But injuries reported in the storms were relatively minimal, which authorities called remarkable. "It's near miraculous that no one was killed," Bart Hagemeyer, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Melbourne, said Tuesday. The Volusia County Property Appraiser's Office said more than 200 homes in a number of mobile home parks were damaged around DeLand, where another F-2 tornado was confirmed. The weather service said Tuesday two other hard-hit areas of the state -- near Leesburg in Lake County and also in Pasco County, along the Gulf Coast north of Tampa -- were struck by tornadoes on Monday. In Pasco County, officials reported about 80 homes damaged or destroyed by an F-2 tornado, largely at the Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club. An F-0, bringing winds of 70 miles per hour was confirmed near Leesburg. Elaine Mandela was among those forced from their home in Pasco County. She spent Monday night with friends, but said she was unsure what she would do after. "I have no idea," she said. "I'm not sure it has hit me yet." Thousands of homes lost power during the storms, but it was largely restored Tuesday. Numerous injuries were reported, but most were minor. Some people told First Coast News they had a hard time contacting their insurance provider. The Florida Department of Financial Services can help you get through to them. Visit www.fldfs.com or call 800-342-2762.
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