PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – Pilots journeyed to North Perry Airport Wednesday to survey damage from one of several tornadoes that hit Broward County Tuesday night, spawned by the outer rain bands of Hurricane Ian.
At least two tornadoes touched down in the area, flipping over several small planes and damaging hangars.
“I see a lot of damage but it looks like my airplane is still tied down,” pilot Randy Myers said.
Pilot James Peña said it appears owners didn’t tie down their planes properly.
“Unfortunately the planes near them are the collateral damage of the planes flipping over on them,” Peña said.
Plane owner describes damage at airport:
The damage was a scary sight for neighbor Emilio Martin.
“It scares you, because it’s like, if you could flip a plane you could flip a car,” Martin said. “When I drove around, I saw gates and everything destroyed, I saw a tree flipped, cut in half, it’s kind of scary.”
Broward County Mayor Michael Udine said the area saw a lot of trees down, plenty of localized flooding and thousands without power.
He had a message for residents.
“Be careful, there are still squalls coming through here,” Udine said. “If there’s no reason to be outside, don’t be outside.”
Broward County entered a state of emergency days before the storm to ensure its ability to aid in cleanup.