MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Three people were rescued from a Martin County mobile home on Thursday morning after a tree toppled onto the house as bands of severe weather from Hurricane Helene tore through the area.
Martin County Fire Rescue posted on Facebook at about 10 a.m. that emergency crews responded to the 400 block of Southeast Cortez Street near Stuart.
Maximiliano Valquez told WPTV's Todd Wilson that it was a pitch black when part of a tree broke off and dropped straight down onto his family's mobile home.
He told Wilson part of the tree crashed into his sister's bedroom, where she was sleeping. He said it sounded like a large boom when suddenly the walls around him were falling, with drywall hitting him in the head and cutting his shoulder.
"I got hit in the head by the drywall. I got hit and I was awake but then everything was loud," Valquez said. "I just covered my ears and I just laid there for a little."
Neighbors who came to help said it took about 20 minutes to rescue the girl. Valquez was trapped in the living room.
“They didn’t respond and I started to get scared, because I didn’t know if they were OK," said a neighbor. "But then they finally said, ‘We’re OK, we’re OK,’ and that’s when I gave thanks to God.”
A Martin County deputy, who was nearby, raced to the scene and helped the family crawl out of the bedroom. Amazingly, they weren't seriously hurt.
Fire rescue said that, unfortunately, the house was destroyed and the family needs to find a new place to live.
"We are working to ensure they have a place to stay tonight and animal control will be assisting them in the care and storage of several pets," fire rescue posted on Facebook.
Feeder bands from Hurricane Helene swept across the Treasure Coast at approximately 9 a.m. Thursday, triggering multiple tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings in Martin, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee counties.
A tornado watch is in effect for Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties until 8 p.m. Thursday as Helene — now a powerful Category 3 storm — speeds toward Florida's Gulf coast, where it's expected to bring catastrophic winds and life-threatening storm surge.
