February 28, 2005
By Gary Taylor
Sentinel Staff Writer

Photo: Tornado damage. Lee Worthington and stepfather Paul Wilcox, both of West Melbourne, help family friends Gary and Teresa Galaske salvage items from their Palm Bay bedroom after the ceiling collapsed during Sunday's tornado. Craig Rubadoux

More than two dozen homes in Palm Bay were damaged Sunday when an afternoon thunderstorm spawned a tornado.

No one was seriously injured when the tornado touched down in the northwest section of the city, although a 63-year-old woman was taken to Palm Bay Community Hospital complaining of knee and neck pains.

"There were a handful of others that had cuts and scrapes," said Yvonne Martinez, a spokeswoman for the city.

The F1 tornado, with winds of 73 to 112 mph, was confirmed by the National Weather Service office in Melbourne.

Some of the homes hit by the tornado had not been repaired after suffering damage in last year's hurricanes, Martinez said. A Palm Bay fire marshal declared 14 of the damaged homes unlivable. The American Red Cross was helping those families.

The Palm Bay Fire Department began receiving calls on the tornado about 3:50 p.m., Martinez said. Damage was concentrated in a square-mile area around the intersection of Wake Forest Road and Dallam Avenue, she said.

The most heavily damaged home was on Canon Avenue.

"It is missing the roof," Martinez said. "There's a huge gaping hole. You can see the trusses."

More than half of the damaged homes are on Carbondale Avenue, Martinez said.

Residents whose homes were not damaged were being urged to remain in their homes because utility crews were dealing with fallen power lines throughout the area.

About 5,000 Florida Power & Light customers lost electricity because a major feeder line was damaged, but that was quickly repaired, said FPL spokeswoman Pat Davis. By 10 p.m., fewer than than 50 customers in the Palm Bay area were without power.

Police officers and firefighters went door-to-door in the area, checking homes for casualties. There was no one home at one house on Dallam Avenue, but police discovered a marijuana-growing operation there, Martinez said.

Officers said they confiscated 54 marijuana plants, each 2- to 3-feet tall, along with equipment used in the operation. They found a logbook that detailed the operation, Martinez said. Police are looking for the homeowner.

In the 5000 block of U.S. Highway 1, where crews have been working on a washout caused by the hurricanes, Sunday afternoon's rains caused more problems and broke a 6-inch sewer line. Some sewage spilled into the Indian River before utility workers were able to repair the damage.

Gary Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@orlandosentinel.com or 407-772-8040.

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