A tornado packed with winds of above 200 kmph swept through the town of Duette in the Manatee County. The strong twister brought a 300-foot-wide swath of destruction along a nine-mile stretch of the county.
Dozens of homes were destroyed or damaged and a couple was killed. Their son and four grandchildren were severely injured. They were all asleep in their mobile home as the twister struck.
The National Weather Service in Ruskin, Florida, confirmed that the first tornado appeared in Duette at about 3:45 a.m.
After some time, another twister came down upon the Sarasota County and struck near the beach community of Siesta Key. This barrier island is famous for its pricey condos and gorgeous beaches.
Several homes were destroyed in the Siesta Key and thousands of homes remained without power throughout the Sarasota County on Sunday morning. Trees were uprooted, minor flooding was reported and parking structures were mangled in the city.
The county Emergency Operations Center estimated the preliminary damage to be more than 3 million dollars.
Awful scene in Sarasota right now. Storm damages house. Sarasota county firefighters inside now @StormTeam8WFLA pic.twitter.com/DdeZ8nUJlN
— Omar A. Delgado WFLA (@WFLAOmar) January 17, 2016
Rescue operations are being carried out by the Sarasota Fire Rescue.
Sarasota county firefighters pulled a woman out of damaged house. Now actively looking for families' pet pic.twitter.com/KIMomLjGzG
— Omar A. Delgado WFLA (@WFLAOmar) January 17, 2016
Tornadoes are not common in the beach communities but also not unheard of, especially in an El Nino year.
Image credit - USA Today