MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — One of the areas most devastated by Wednesday's tornado spawned by Hurricane Milton is the tight-knit New Monrovia neighborhood of Port Salerno in Martin County. Dozens of homes lost roofs, while others were leveled entirely.
Residents said two tornadoes ripped through the community in a matter of 30 minutes, taking with them roofs, cars and entire homes.
WPTV reporter Kate Hussey stood in what's left of Bill Gore's home on Colee Street. The frame of the home is the only thing left remaining.
Gore showed Hussey what once was his kitchen, his living room and his bedroom, which were all reduced to rubble.
He said he and his wife decided to ride out the storm with their in-laws a few streets down and weren't at their home when the tornado ripped through. They came back to find not just their home gone, but their cars too.
His relatives, just one door down, were pulled from the wreckage of their own home.
Gore said he believes if he and his wife had been home at the time they wouldn't have made it out alive.
"That pretty much saved our lives, I'm just going to say it, it saved our lives," Gore said. "It is one of those things in life, I really understand what the people in North Carolina are going through, I truly understand. Here I was praying that God would give them comfort and peace and safety and now I'm in that boat, so hopefully someone is praying for me."
Gore said he has no idea where he's going nor what he'll do next, but said he's incredibly grateful for so many community members who have come to help him cleanup, offering housing and so much more.
His next-door neighbors, Jonathan and Sarah Owens, also suffered irreparable damage.
"SOUNDED LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN"
The couple told Hussey they were sitting on the couch when they heard what sounded like a freight train. The two ran to the hallway, the only area of their home without windows, and clutched each other and their service dog, waiting for it to end.
"We could hear the trees falling on our house, our windows were breaking and thankfully we have impact windows and a cement house," said Sarah Owens. "But if our house was not, hurricane [proof] impact, I think we both would not be here today."
In just a few minutes while WPTV was speaking with the Owens family on Friday, three people came up and offered to help them clean up and see if they were alright.
They are now waiting to hear back from their insurance company as to whether their house can be rebuilt.
"BLESSED ... TO BE ALIVE"
Across the street from them, Jerry Smith lost his roof for the second time due to a hurricane.
Smith said he wasn't home when the tornado ripped through, but got a frantic call from his wife and daughter, who clung to each other as the winds whipped around them, ripping off the roof right before their eyes.
Smith said it's the second time this happened: in 2004, Hurricane Jean ripped the home off its foundation.
"Here we go again," said Smith. "I don't think it's a good idea for us to try to rebuild this time, but I feel blessed, really, to be alive."
Like so many others, Smith and his family are staying with loved ones until they can figure out a permanent solution.
Further down on Colee Street, Janette Johnson is grateful she and her six grandchildren are still alive.
The windows of her home are blown out, the roof is gone and the second story is almost completely missing.
Johnson said she was inside her home with her six grandchildren when they heard a deafening noise.
She said she barely had time to react, and immediately huddled in the stairwell with her hands over her head.
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Her grandchildren clung to each other in a ball on the floor of the kitchen, watching in horror as the wind ripped off the roof, shattering the glass windows around them.
Johnson said seconds before, her grandson was on the second floor playing video games. Had the tornado ripped through just a few seconds earlier, she said he likely wouldn't be here.
"He didn't know which way to go, his brothers were calling him and saying, ‘come over here, come over here!" said Johnson. "He was calling me, 'Grandma!' I couldn't move at the time."
Johnson said her grandchildren are shaken but physically okay. She's now living with family as she waits for the insurance adjuster to give her direction on where to go next.
"When I look at this, I'm just grateful. I just, you know, I give God praise for it, I'm just so grateful he spared our lives," said Johnson.
Through it all, Johnson and her neighbors have stayed incredibly positive. Still hanging, almost miraculously, on the wall of what's left of her upstairs bathroom is a sign that reads 'faith.'
Johnson, a pastor in the New Monrovia community, so rooted in faith, said she's clinging to her faith to get her through.
"IT BRINGS TEARS TO MY EYES, BUT IT'S TEARS OF JOY ... I'M ALIVE"
Faith is what's helping Diana Dotson comprehend her irreparable loss, too.
Dotson, just a few houses down from Johnson, suffered utter devastation.
Her cars were thrown from her driveway into the street, and the tornado picked up a trailer, throwing it into her bedroom, which is now all but gone.
Dotson said Wednesday afternoon, she was feeling tired and went to take a nap in that very bedroom but for some reason, just couldn't fall asleep. She came back out and 15 minutes later she heard a deafening noise.
She and her son fell to the floor, and when it was all over, realized the home she's lived in for 47 years was gone.
"It brings tears to my eyes, but it's tears of joy because I'm here. I'm alive. Yes, I lost a lot, but I'm glad I wasn't in that bedroom to be trapped. Because I know if I was, I surely would have died," Dotson said. "But I'm so thankful, so thankful that He spared my life. I'm not perfect, but I must be something for him to spare."
Crews came together Friday to help Dotson begin to clean up and towed the trailer away. Other volunteers picked up debris or handed out food and water.
She's one of many that have now begun to rebuild. WPTV was there as person after person showed up at a Martin County distribution center to get water and tarps.
Dozens of community members searched for help in this time of need.
Other community members, led by Jimmy Smith of the NAACP of Martin County, handed out hot meals, water and supplies to the New Monrovia Park community Thursday and Friday.
Smith, the brother-in-law of Dotson and nephew of Johnson, cooked up barbecue for victims affected in the area of Geraldine Street and 46th Avenue.
He was joined by the Salvation Army and other community leaders and elected officials.
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"We've just come together as a whole community, we're just so excited to see all people of all sorts of backgrounds coming in, pitching in and helping," said Smith.
Smith said he'll be back out in the community serving up meals starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and is also collecting donations for those impacted, including clothing and other essential supplies.
Just down the street from the relief effort, Pastor Ricardo Weaver of City Church is urging donations to his fellow community as well, despite his church suffering its own irreparable devastation.
Weaver showed Hussey the frame of the church, the only thing left standing after the tornado ripped off its roof, throwing it into a nearby church's parking lot, and taking with it a multitude of furniture and objects.
Rain also inundated the building left uncovered after the tornado, turning it into what Weaver described as a 'pool.'
Weaver, the pastor of City Church for 19 years, said it's not the first time the church was devastated by a tornado. In the 1970s, a tornado ripped the building off its foundation entirely.
"So we're standing in the structure they rebuilt after that first tornado, and to experience this 50 years later is a sign," said Weaver. "I want to believe in my heart that because God allowed this, he is going to ensure as we move forward that we’re going to do so with strength and courage and passion and fire, and we're going to be okay. I know we're going to be okay."
Yet because of the devastation in his surrounding community, and the many homes lost, Weaver isn't asking for donations for his church, but instead hoping people can direct their efforts to the livelihoods lost.
Staying resilient too is Betty Queen, who was inside her home with her daughter and son when a tornado ripped off her roof, taking with it many of her belongings inside.
Queen walked Hussey through each room, now emptied.
She said she was inside her kitchen when her son heard a noise that sounded like gunshots. Her son dropped to the ground wh
"I was shook up, but I kept trying to go through the hallway to find out why she went running through the back," said Queen. "I done lost my house after 39 years of living and raising my children, my great-grandchildren here."
Queen is now living with her granddaughter as she figures out her next move, but said despite the loss, she's just thankful she made it through alive.
"I said, 'God, you know what, I cried into this world with nothing, when I leave I hope somebody will have something,' but I just say, 'Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus."
Queen said after the storm, her Bible fell open to a word about peace. She said that's helping her stay positive, and grateful, even though she doesn't know what to do next.
Her granddaughter, Bettie Ford, has now set up a GoFundMe page to help her recover. You can donate by clicking here.
