Tornado damages Central Beach, welfare checks underway

VERO BEACH – Police, National Guard troops and Florida Fish and Wildlife officers are going door-to-door conducting wildlife checks after reports of a tornado that struck Central Beach on the barrier island, City Manager Monte Falls said. On the mainland, at least two possible tornadoes made landfall near the Vero Beach Police Department, sending tree branches into the air and scattering debris, said Kelsea Callahan, a spokeswoman for the department.

“We make sure that the residents are doing well. Our efforts have been compounded by flooding,” Falls said. “We have reports of 6.5 inches of rain falling in three hours. In the last 24 hours we have had more than 23 centimeters of rain.”

No injuries were reported in Indian River County Wednesday evening. Images and videos of downed trees, flooded roads and other damage spread across social media after weather experts issued multiple tornado warnings ahead of Hurricane Milton.

Falls said city officials began receiving text messages about the tornado on Central Beach around 6 p.m.

Falls said the east end of the Merrill P. Barber and Alma Lee Loy bridges were impassable except for first responder vehicles due to flooding. Authorities closed both bridges Wednesday afternoon after officials said Indian River County would experience wind gusts of more than 45 miles per hour.

The city manager said first responders would continue to conduct welfare checks on island residents overnight. Possible tornadoes also struck the mainland of Vero Beach Police Headquarters.

Police officials said the agency's weather station recorded a wind gust of 95 miles per hour around 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Falls said a tornado made landfall at Commerce Avenue and 17th Street. The tornado snapped a tree at Vero Beach Police Department and also damaged the COMO Oil & Propane gas station and Pocahontas Park, Falls said.

Meteorologists could not immediately confirm whether police were struck by tornadoes. It will take several days for weather experts to assess the damage and confirm whether tornadoes struck the department, NWS officials said.

Meteorologists said a tornado that formed farther south in St. Lucie County moved into southern Indian River County on Wednesday, causing damage. Weather experts with the National Weather Service said they had reports of damage in Indian River County but no details yet.

At least two tornadoes formed Wednesday in St. Lucie and Martin counties, said Jessie Schaper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne.

According to the National Hurricane Center's update at 8 p.m., Milton remained a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. The hurricane hit Siesta Key on Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday evening and was expected to move toward the East Coast, exiting into the Atlantic Ocean near Brevard County.

Photos provided by the Vero Beach Police Department