Port St. Lucie residents clean up after possible tornado or landspout hits neighborhood

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Some Port St. Lucie residents are cleaning up after a possible tornado or landspout hit their neighborhood near Southbend Boulevard and Southeast Navy Ave on Sunday.

Aaron Christiansen said he was home around 6 p.m. when he noticed something strange through his window. He immediately took cover, and moments later found significant damage in his backyard.

“Looked across, and I saw dark clouds and I saw a bunch of white. I said that looks like a lot of birds, and I went and got closer, I’m like, that’s not birds, that’s debris. And tried to hustle my dogs into my bedroom so we could all take cover. We had about 10 seconds to react before the storm hit,” Christiansen said.

Port St. Lucie residents clean up after possible tornado or landspout

His patio furniture was submerged in his pool, his pool fence was blown toward his home, debris was scattered across the ground and plants were blown away.

Christiansen, originally from Minnesota, said his experience with tornado-like weather helped him know what precautions to take. He and his family and pets were not injured.

“I’ve seen them before,” Christiansen said. “I’m just grateful that all of us are okay.”

Christiansen said he received the emergency alert after the storm had already hit. Christiansen said he plans to begin cleanup efforts Monday and will also have his roof inspected.

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