‘We don’t have a home’: Cleanup, rebuilding begins for residents after tornadoes hit Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. — Jose Pico and his wife were in their kitchen getting ready for dinner Saturday evening when the tornado hit.

“We hear like an explosion in the sky,” he said.

They ran to the bathroom to take cover while the tornado took it all – their roof, their clothes, their furniture.

“Less than one second, two seconds, we lost everything,” Pico said.

The Red Cross is stepping in to help those families like Pico’s who lost everything during the tornadic weekend. At least three tornadoes were reported, one causing significant damage downtown.

Read: Tornadic weekend for Central Florida: 3 tornadoes, one leaving substantial damage east of Downtown Orlando

The Red Cross said its volunteers have a list of available rooms for those who need them.

“We've had 67 people that we've helped so far and that number is still going up, it’s still going up,” said Duhane Lindo, regional communications manager for The Red Cross.

The organization also donated money to Pico and his family, which they desperately need.

Orange County estimates the severe storms caused close to $1 million in damage, which is still visible throughout Lake Margaret Drive and Fern Creek Avenue.

Read: Crews pump concrete into large road collapse following weekend storms in Marion County

For Pico, it’s been weeks of loss, as he was laid off at the beginning of the pandemic and was just getting by.

“We were doing kind-of-OK, but now with this, it’s really hard, really really hard,” he said. ”We are going to start from zero.”

Pico has returned to see the aftermath of Saturday’s tornado time and time again.

“Actually, today, it’s more painful because I told me my wife, ‘Let’s go home,’ and she looked at me like, ‘We don’t have a home,’” he said. “I started crying.”

Click here to donate to the Pico family’s relief fund

No major injuries were reported following the storm.

The community has come together to help clean up the damage. See the video below for more.

VIDEO: Volunteers help keep Central Florida Strong after tornado Volunteers are doing what they can to help clean up after devastating tornadoes ripped through Central Florida.

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