PANAMA CITY - Despite a rash of tornadoes spawned by Hurricane Ivan late Wednesday and early Thursday that left two people dead, cut power to most of the county and downed countless trees, emergency officials are relieved the damage wasn't worse.
Most homes, including those in mobile home parks, escaped major damage even though scores of trees were felled by the nearly dozen twisters that tore through the county.
"These people were very, very lucky," Bay County spokeswoman Catherine McNaught said as she drove through a mobile home park in the city of Parker, where officials earlier reported that as many as 70 homes were significantly damaged.
"Look how that tree just missed that trailer," McNaught said, pointing to a tree split in half just above the roof. The upper half of the tree touched the ground, forming an arch below which the mobile home stood seemingly untouched.
Indeed, most of the trees seemed to lie just beside homes that they could have crushed. Branches rested against walls and windows and blocked roads.
Nancy King's home was an exception. The 77-year-old woman was killed when her three bedroom home took a direct hit from a tornado that cut a swath about a half mile wide in the Sandy Creek area of Bay County, near Tyndell Air Force Base. Pieces of her home, which had stood on the gulf since 1936, were flung across an area the size of three football fields. King's body was found among pieces of debris about 75 yards from her home.
Emergency crews cut trees down along King's road to reach her.
Another tornado along the Panama City Beach tourst strip killed John Martin, 84, who was checking his daughter's real estate business with his son. The two men had earlier stopped to help motorists get out of the foul weather and stepped in at the business to see if it was damaged, officials said. Martin's son ducked into an interior room just as the tornado hit but Martin received a fatal head injury when the twister exploded the business' plate glass window.
The tornado that hit the tourist strip surprised many residents who had taken advantage of a momentary lull in the weather to stroll along the beach and enjoy the surf, despite repeated warnings from officials that tornadoes were possible.
Rescuers found no one trapped in rubble Wednesday night, McNaught said.
Seven people were taken to area hospitals with tornado-related injuries but none was considered critical, McNaught said.
One sheriff's deputy was slightly injured when the building where he and several motorists had taken refuge was demolished, said Bay County Sheriff's spokeswoman Ruth Sasser. That building had been a popular restaurant that was recently sold, she said.
Most of the Panama City beaches, the lifeblood of the community, were also spared, despite a storm surge of about 8 feet that was worse than what the county had expected. The surge flooded streets along the waterfront and destroyed several docks.
Officials imposed a curfew from 9 p.m. Wednesday night but lifted it early this afternoon. Due to widespread power outages, residents also were asked to conserve water by not flushing toilets until absolutely necessary.
