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Port Orange Declares State Of Emergency

Posted: 7:42 pm EDT July 24, 2009Updated: 11:27 pm EDT July 26, 2009

A tornado that damaged more than 150 homes Friday night has prompted Port Orange to declare a State of Emergency.

Meanwhile, the cleanup continued Sunday morning in the Port Orange neighborhoods where a tornado tore apart roofs and left debris hanging from trees.

Red Cross crews are on scene all morning handing out supplies like tarps, clean up kits, and food


TORNADO IMAGES: Images Of Waterspout, Tornado In Volusia
AERIALS OF DAMAGE: See Images | Raw Video
RAW HOME VIDEO: Tornado Caught On Camera
STORM DAMAGE: Images From Port Orange
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On Saturday the National Weather Service confirmed that it was an EF0 tornado that tore into the community. An EF0 tornado has winds ranging from 65 to 85 miles per hour.

Chet Miller and his wife rode out the twister in the bathroom of their mobile home in the Laurelwood Estates Friday night.

"Just stuff flying everywhere, it was terrible. I don't want to experience anything like that again," Chet Miller told Eyewitness News.

The tornado damaged more than 150 homes before it was all over. At least 15 are so bad, residents can't go back.

"The water's just coming in, floor's completely shot now," one resident said, as he looked inside a neighbor's home.

The home's roof had been peeled back. A friend of the owners, he told us that they're out of state and still haven't seen it for themselves.

Meanwhile, assessment teams were evaluating damage.

Firefighters helped to get blue tarps where they were needed in an attempt to get the homes covered before more rain moves in.

The chief says it could've been worse.

"The roofs came off these buildings, but the buildings stayed intact. So, the people ran to their bathrooms and even in a mobile home, they were safe," said Tom Weber, Port Orange Fire Chief.

The Volusia County property appraiser is was on site to help figure out the dollar amount of all of the damage. The Red Cross was in the neighborhood making sure everyone had water, food and whatever help they need to clean up.

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