FORT PIERCE, Fla. — For those who survived Hurricane Milton, the storm still isn't over— in fact, it's just beginning.
That's the case for a couple in Fort Pierce, who lost their home when an EF-3 tornado tore through Oct. 9.
Yet Alfred and Erin Ross said their insurance company doesn't quite see it that way.
"It uh...it doesn't feel real, you know?” said Alfred Ross.
The couple, sitting in front of their newly remodeled home, now a cracked and broken mess, let out a big sigh as they think back to October.
“We just sat down to eat dinner," said Alfred Ross.
Like much of Fort Pierce, Alfred, Erin and their 1-year-old son were hit by an EF-3 tornado.
"It sounds like a train, like everybody says, the pressure of it, it pops your ears, makes you feel like you’re being held underwater," said Erin Ross.
The twister's 155 mph winds ripped right through their hurricane-proof windows.
"I just jumped up, grabbed my 17-month-old son, we got into a hallway closet and just… hoped that we would be able to walk out of it," said Erin Ross. “You know, a little bit in my head, I figured, if the house fell down it would have to go through me first. Just hope that it's not your number that’s coming."
Thankfully for them, it wasn't. The couple and their son survived, but not without significant damage. The wind shifted the home off its foundation, took off part of their roof and left cracks throughout the building's walls.
Little did either of them know then the storm wasn't quite over.
"It almost feels like it’s beginning all over again," said Alfred Ross.
Alfred and Erin Ross have Florida's state-run Citizens Insurance. They filed a claim, an adjuster came out and soon after, they received $70,000.
That was before the county and a contractor they hired red-tagged the building as structurally unsound: it's beyond repair.
"I have presented to the insurance company with that documentation from the county, you know, showing that it has severe structural damage," said Erin Ross. "I was told by a second-tier manager, he literally said, 'I don't care what the county’s paper says, if you don't like our assessment, you can fight it.'"
"I'm angry," Erin continued, "because, you know, their solution to this is to put a roof on it, to put siding and stucco and patch these holes, but the truth is, it's a deck of cards in there and it's dangerous and I don't see how they can expect a family to just slap a roof on something that’s buckling."
WPTV reporter Kate Hussey reached out to Citizens Insurance. A representative told Hussey he'd bring this up to supervisors and said the $70,000 check the Rosses received could be the first of many checks to come.
However, we first reached out weeks ago and still the Ross's don't have the help they need.
"I'm just asking somebody sitting behind a desk who’s going to get to go home to their house tonight, who’s going to sleep on their own bed tonight, knowing their family is safe and sound," Erin Ross said, "I want them to understand that that’s all we're trying to do in life as well."
“We just need to be able to move forward," added Alfred Ross.
Since reaching out to Citizens, the couple told us their case was reassigned to a new manager and a new adjuster.
They also said they were told by Citizens those previously on their case were dismissed from their positions.
Citizens still haven't confirmed that for WPTV, but we did bring up their case to CFO Jimmy Patronis, who said he'd look into it.
As for the Ross', they're currently living with friends amid the insurance battle.
If you'd like to donate to the Ross family to help them get back on their feet, the family has a GoFundMe page here.
More coverage related to WPTV's documentary The Day the Sky Turned:
The Day The Sky Turned
2 MONTHS SINCE MILTON: WPTV shares stories of those impacted by tornado outbreak
Loxahatchee Acreage
