Collier County experiences tornado, weather damage

A Collier County Sheriff’s deputy was able to see a tornado coming towards him near the intersection of US-41 and Collier Blvd. Now parts of Collier County are reeling after storms left significant damage.

While the damage may be pretty bad, many in Collier County told WINK News reporter Gail Levy that it could be much worse. They’re just glad that none of their neighbors or loved ones were injured or worse.

However, some families in East Naples are saying this damage is worse than what Hurricane Irma left behind a few years ago. One family’s roof flew in three different directions – one part flipped on upside down with the ceiling fan facing the sky. Another piece is sitting in the family’s driveway. That third part is hanging off the side of the house.

“The tornado– it literally just blew off our roof.”

Now, those neighbors say it’s time to begin the process of cleaning up the place they call home. When WINK News first arrived hours ago, everyone was outside. They were sawing downed trees and raking up debris. One step at a time, they’re all cleaning up.

For the folks who live there, it’s just the neighborly thing to do.

Yorney Licourt was at a friend’s house when the tornado hit, which means his mom was home alone. “I was honestly scared because I woke up with the alarm and I didn’t know what was going on, I thought it was just my normal alarm and next thing you know, my mom started calling me, and she was scared half to death,” Licourt said.

He had no clue what the next step was. “I have no idea. I’m being honest, I have no idea,” said Licourt.

That seems to be how much of this neighborhood is feeling. Within just minutes, homes were destroyed, and this community was shaken to its core.

Mary-Gisele Jean-Francois lives in East Naples. She says she didn’t know what to make of what she was hearing. “The house is shaking, and I said, ‘God, what happened!?'” said Jean-Francois.

Once she stepped outside, Jean-Francois saw a piece of a broken tree on her roof, shingles missing and an upright lawn chair. But the most important thing she saw was her neighbors helping each other.

Omar Paz lives in East Naples. “It’s a tight community. We all know each other. We all grew up together, so I’ll give each other a hand,” said Paz.

Paz would know since he’s lived here his entire life. “First tornado I’ve ever seen,” said Paz. And he hopes it’ll be the last. “It was kind of scary, you know. I had my kids in the house, you know, so at least everybody is good. All of The material stuff, we can fix it or buy it again, but at least everybody safe, nobody got hurt that I know of in the neighborhood,” he said.

Paz says the journey has begun, and they’ll go street by street for the cleanup process. “We’re on our way. We’re going to go street by street and clean everything up, yeah fixed a lot of roofs already. Fix the water leaks for people that had to, you know, take care of everything,” he said.

The neighborhood is already seeing improvement from when WINK News first arrived. There is still a long way to go for these neighbors, but getting back to normal doesn’t feel so out of reach anymore.