Lakeport residents plan to rebuild

By Katrina Elsken
Lake Okeechobee News

Posted 10/11/24

The sound of chainsaws filled the air as Lakeport residents, their friends, neighbors and volunteers who just wanted to help started cleaning up ...

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Lakeport residents plan to rebuild

Posted Friday, October 11, 2024 11:06 am

By Katrina Elsken
Lake Okeechobee News

LAKEPORT – The sound of chainsaws filled the air as Lakeport residents, their friends, neighbors and volunteers who just wanted to help started cleaning up debris on Oct. 10. According to Glades County Sheriff’s Office, 39 homes in the rural community were damaged or destroyed by tornadoes on Oct. 9.

Tornadoes in the outer bands of Hurricane Milton tore through the Twin Palms community near the Rim Canal in Glades County, splintering ancient cypress trees, overturning cars and turning homes into rubble.

Residents are thankful no lives were lost. According to the Glades County Sheriff's Office, one person was transported to the hospital and six others were injured but did not request transport. Many of the Lakeport homes are owned by winter residents. Some full-time residents voluntarily evacuated as Hurricane Milton approached.

One woman was in her home when the tornado lifted it into the air and smashed the dwelling into a tree. Emergency personnel pulled her from the rubble and rushed her to a hospital. On Oct. 10, some of her friends sorted through the rubble trying to salvage any of her possessions.

LAKEPORT -- A Lakeport resident was in her home on Oct. 9, when a tornado lifted it and smashed it into a tree. She was rescued and transported to a …

Twin Palms, which was originally called the Sarasota Colony, was established in the 1950s. Most of the first residents were from Sarasota. The community is a mix of conventional and manufactured housing.

LAKEPORT --Sonny Kocsis stands in front of his sturdy home in Lakeport. He said at least four tornadoes hit the Twin Palms community on the afternoon …

Sonny Kocsis has lived in Lakeport since 1977 and built his current home there in 1999. His son-in-law, granddaughter and granddaughter’s husband were with him when the tornadoes hit. “They came from Tampa to get away from the storm,” he explained.

Kocsis said a friend in Clewiston alerted him to a big tornado which was coming across the lake. “There were at least four tornadoes,” he said. The largest came across Lake Okeechobee, and spawned at least three others.

“In the time you could count to 5, it was come and gone,” he said.

His sturdy home was damaged by flying debris, but otherwise intact. He has a generator and is staying put, but his family went back to Tampa.

LAKEPORT -- Michael DuBose sits on the porch of his home near the Rim Canal. The 'X' on the structure indicates it was checked by search and rescue …

Near the Rim Canal, Michael DuBose sat on the porch of what used to be his home. Dubose has lived in Lakeport for 18 years and had purchased his current home two years ago. He was staying with friends when the tornadoes hit. Surveying the wreckage, he said he plans to rebuild.

DuBose said he understands the process to apply to FEMA for help. He lost a home in Punta Gorda to Hurricane Charlie in 2004.

“They say with a tornado, go into the bathroom. There’s the toilet,” he said, pointing to the porcelain commode lodged in debris on the roof. “I haven’t found the bathtub yet.”