Florida county reports multiple fatalities after tornado crashes through senior community

Officials in St. Lucie County, Florida, on Wednesday reported that "multiple fatalities" occurred at a senior community after a tornado triggered by Hurricane Milton blew through the town.

St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson did not indicate how many people had died, but said search and rescue operations are currently underway at the Spanish Lakes Country Club. 

The tornado is one of over a dozen that broke out across the state from the hurricane, which made landfall near Sarasota, Florida, on Wednesday night. At least 19 tornadoes have been confirmed so far, and over 100 tornado warnings have been issued.

"We have dozens of homes in St. Lucie County that have been damaged, some catastrophic damage," St. Lucie County spokesman Erick Gill told WPTV. "We are working with the St. Lucie County Fire District ... National Guard, as well as units from the sheriff's office and even first responders from surrounding counties to help with search and rescue."

Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management, said approximately 125 homes have been destroyed in the state from the hurricane or tornadoes so far, the majority of which have been mobile homes in senior communities.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has urged residents to stay where they are to ride out the storm, and assured them that search and rescue operations would commence as soon as it is safe.

“As Hurricane Milton makes landfall near Sarasota county, now is the time to shelter in place. First responders are staged and ready to go, as soon as weather conditions allow," DeSantis wrote in a post on X. "Search and rescue efforts will be well underway to save lives before dawn, and they will continue for as long as it takes."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.