PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — WPTV spoke to the city of Palm Beach Gardens to get more information on the extent of tornado damage in the Avenir community.
The devastating E3 tornado traveled over 20 miles from Wellington to Jupiter Farms in 30 minutes, sustaining 140 mph winds. The most considerable amount of damage was dealt to the Avenir neighborhood.
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According to Candace Temple, communications director for Palm Beach Gardens, 318 homes in Avenir were damaged by the tornado. 47 of those had "major" damage, and 11 were destroyed according to FEMA standards and the city's building code.
The Le Terre neighborhood of Avenir took the most significant damage, with 10 of the 11 homes destroyed.
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Fortunately, there were no fatalities, and only two injuries. The tornado caused seven injuries total in Palm Beach County.
Avenir's Publix, which was scheduled to open on Oct. 31 and still had empty shelves, was also destroyed. Temple said the building will not be demolished and rebuilt, with an unknown exact time frame.
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Palm Beach Gardens Police are still stationed in the community to protect vulnerable property. Temple said there were more than 200 calls for service to Palm Beach Gardens during the tornado, many of those being alarms that automatically alerted emergency services.
