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‘Roof tiles were flying like bullets’: Residents recount survival during Palm Beach County tornado

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. – Bobby Jagoo’s wife and daughter hid in a closet Wednesday afternoon, but curiosity got the best of him.

“It came to the front where I started recording and all of the roof tiles were flying like bullets, just all over the yard,” he said.

The sight was a tornado slicing through his two-and-a-half-acre property just outside of Palm Beach Gardens.

“I’ve never seen a twister before,” he said. “And the first ever was in my backyard.”

Jagoo said, “While we were looking at the news and talking about it, we heard a freight train coming on the front of the house. Trees everywhere. My car of mine was against a pine tree.”

And not just any car — a rare 1980s East German Trabant, now destroyed.

“Broken windshield, trunk bumper lights,” he said. “It was a direct path to destruction, and anyone in the path was unlucky. And that’s what I was, just unlucky.”

Jagoo took Local 10 News for a tour of the neighborhood. This specific tornado, which touched down around 5 p.m., affected Palm Beach Gardens, Royal Palm Beach, The Acreage, and Loxahatchee Groves.

The roof of a Publix, still under construction at Coconut and Hamlin boulevards in Palm Beach Gardens, collapsed. Crews worked fixing downed lines as hundreds of customers are left without power.

Area resident Janelle Garbajal says the tornado warning came in on her phone.

“We just felt pressure in our ears and I grabbed both kids and hugged them and we hid in a corner,” Garbajal said.

Five minutes later, her property was damaged.

“There’s a hole in the roof. Our enclosure is destroyed. Trees everywhere. Our neighbor’s shed came to our house and hit us,” Garbajal said.

And while Garbajal said she feels lucky for help from loved ones, and her family’s well-being, the mess left behind leaves an emotional toll.

“To see your house, you know, it’s tough, it’s hard,” she said.


About the Author
Liane Morejon headshot

Liane Morejon is an Emmy-winning reporter who joined the Local 10 News family in January 2010. Born and raised in Coral Gables, Liane has a unique perspective on covering news in her own backyard.

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