DAVIE, Fla. – Along orange drive in Davie is the nonprofit Happi Farm, which reaches out to people with special needs through animal interaction.
On Tuesday, the outer bands from Hurricane Ian tore up the farm.
“I wanted to stay at the farm so I could keep an eye on the animals and make sure they were safe,” said owner Marie Lim.
Lim told Local 10 News some of her recently repaired stables were completely destroyed, and that strong winds, or likely a reported tornado in the area, sent a tree crashing onto her car.
The back window was blown out and the top of the car was smashed in.
“I was very surprised and shocked,” Lim said.
Happi Farm wasn’t the only animal home in the area with stables that were damaged.
Nearby Hidden Gem Stables is also dealing with flooded stables and damaged tents that were tossed around their property.
“I didn’t get any sleep worrying about everything that was going on,” said Mary Restrepo with Hidden Gem Stables. “It was pretty intense. I’ve never seen a tornado before but it was pretty intense to see an actually tornado and the lightning in the sky.”
Although left with flooded trails and lots of cleanup due to Hurricane Ian’s strength, thankfully the animals at both farms are doing okay.
“Well they seemed to handle it okay except for the two that got out, they were pretty scared I’m pretty sure,” Lim said.
CLICK HERE to download Local 10′s Hurricane Survival Guide.
Visit Local10.com’s hurricane page for the latest updates on this storm. To receive daily morning briefings on the tropics, sign up for the Talking Tropics newsletter.