While Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s west coast in October 2024, it was the tornadoes on the east coast that delivered the most tragic blow, particularly in Fort Pierce, where an EF3 tornado claimed six lives and left a neighborhood in ruins.
A Gulf coast storm with Florida east coast devastation
Though Milton’s eye hit the Gulf side, the storm system spawned at least 45 tornadoes across Central and Southern Florida, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The most destructive struck Spanish Lakes Country Club Village in Fort Pierce, turning a retirement community into a disaster zone.
“It sounded like a plane that fell out of the sky,” said Jackie Scott, who rode out the tornado in a small space with her dog and two cats. “I didn’t even realize that part of the roof was gone.”
Scott’s home was later reduced to debris. Though she survived without injury and received FEMA assistance within weeks, she now lives in a new mobile home in another part of Fort Pierce. Her original lot remains vacant.
Rebuilding and financial strain after Hurricane Milton
Scott is one of the few who feel lucky. Others, like Jeanna McKamey, are still in a prolonged struggle with bureaucracy and financial burdens.
“Everything had flown away, just was ripped into pieces,” McKamey recalled. Her attempts to rebuild have been slowed by FEMA paperwork, county permitting issues, and mounting costs.
“We were looking at $20,000 to $40,000 just to put a carport and porch back on,” she said. The financial toll means she and her husband have shelved retirement indefinitely.
Mobile home insurance, too, has become nearly unattainable. “It was like over $4,000,” Scott said of her quote while shopping for coverage for her new home.
Psychological toll and a changed landscape in Fort Pierce
Michael Bass, whose concrete home withstood the storm, has decided to move out of the neighborhood. He said the trauma is now built into the view.
“I got feedback from the open houses that, you know, ‘I don’t want to live in your devastation.’ That’s when it dawned on me,” Bass said.
Months after the tornado, the debris is gone — but so are many homes. Entire blocks remain as empty lots, haunting reminders of what was lost.
A warning as 2025 hurricane season begins
As a new hurricane season gets underway, Fort Pierce residents like Jackie Scott are urging others to take preparedness seriously.
“If it’s going to be bad, leave,” she said. “I stayed because I had no choice, and I would’ve stayed anyways, because I was that stubborn.”
For many in Fort Pierce, recovery is ongoing — not just of homes and property, but of peace of mind. What began as a hurricane turned into a life-altering event, one that still feels surreal for those who lived through it.
