14 dead as storms sweep through Fla.

[Jahness]

14 dead as storms sweep through Fla.

By JIM ELLIS,
Associated Press Writer

At least 14 people were killed early Friday as thunderstorms and at least one tornado struck central Florida, flattening homes and a church, causing power outages and lifting a tractor trailer into the air, officials said.

Lake County spokesman Christopher Patton confirmed the 14 deaths but no further details were available.

Dozens of mobile homes near Lady Lake were destroyed by the storms that hit in the middle of the night. Chairs, beds and clothes were strewn about yards, with debris hanging from trees. Some homes were tossed from their foundations, while others had their roofs ripped off.

"The most dangerous tornado scenario is a threat for killer tornadoes at night, and that was the case," said Dave Sharp, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Melbourne.

The Lady Lake Church of God was demolished, its pews, altar and Bibles left in a jumbled mess. The 31-year-old, steel-reinforced structure was built to withstand 150-mph winds, the Rev. Larry Lynn said.

By daybreak, parishioners gathered amid the ruins, hugging each other and consoling Lynn. They planned to clear the debris and hold Sunday services on the empty lot.

"That's just the building. The people are the church. We'll be back bigger and stronger," Lynn said.

The storms moved across Sumter and Lake counties around 3:15 a.m., then moved to Volusia County, where 69 homes and a county medical clinic were damaged, authorities said.

At least five crashes took place within a quarter mile of each other near Interstate 4's New Smyrna Beach exit, closing the highway for about three hours.

In one case, a semitrailer was lifted up and landed on another semi, pinning the driver in his cab, said Kim Miller, a spokeswoman with the Florida Highway Patrol. The driver did not suffer life-threatening injuries, she said.

About 20,000 customers were without power across a wide swath of central Florida, Progress Energy spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs said.

The state Emergency Operations Center was activated, said Mike Stone, spokesman at the state's Department of Emergency Management.
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On the Net:

Florida Division of Emergency Management: http://www.floridadisaster.org/index.asp

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