Eustis FL tornado 1 year ago left emotional scars but eventually more durable homes

Eustis tornado 1 year ago left emotional scars but eventually more durable homes
A tornado one year ago left emotional scars but eventually stronger homes
Martin E. Comas | Sentinel Staff Writer
September 20, 2008
1 2 next EUSTIS - One year after a tornado blew apart their home, Charles and Gladys Sharp still get terrified when they hear a storm is coming.

Gladys will grab a candle and cigarettes and lock herself inside her bathroom, huddling on the floor with her two dogs.

"I get scared out of my freaking mind," the 72-year-old woman said Wednesday. "It's something that I still can't get over."

Her husband, Charles, 72, will shut off the television news when he sees images of tornado or hurricane destruction.



One year ago today a powerful F1 tornado tore through Eustis at 10:55 p.m., shaving roofs off homes, shattering windows and tossing trees in a single square-mile area southeast of downtown.

"I will never forget that night," Charles Sharp said.

Although no one was killed and police reported only a few minor injuries, county and city officials said 161 houses incurred some damage -- from those with a few shingles missing to seven homes being destroyed. The total loss was calculated at more than $6.73 million. Some battered homes were more than 100 years old.
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