By COLlive reporter
A line of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes roared through Tallahassee Friday morning leaving a large swath of damage – downed trees, tangled power lines and buildings with their roofs sheered off.
The violent storms crashed into the city amid the morning rush to school by students. Schools across the city were subsequently closed and a woman was tragically killed when a tree crashed into her home.
Facing the kind of damage and numbers that accompany hurricanes, the City of Tallahassee expects it will take “some time” to get an estimated 80,000 people reconnected to the power grid.
“Unfortunately, we have had one confirmed fatality, and we ask everybody to keep their family in your prayers,” Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey told FOX weather. “And, of course, we’re assessing the damage, and we’ll continue to do so.”
According to the FOX Forecast Center, at least four tornadoes were confirmed on radar in Tallahassee, Florida, on Friday morning, while thunderstorms produced gusts as high as 84 mph.
Rabbi Shneur Oirechman, who leads Chabad of The Panhandle in Tallahassee with his wife Chanie, has just returned from Israel where he was sitting Shiva for his mother, Mrs. Ilana Oirechman OBM. He had made a stop at the Rebbe’s Ohel at the exact time of the storm, he told COLlive.
“These are the worse tornados that Tallahassee has ever seen,” Rabbi Oirechman said. “There was major damage near our Chabad Center and home, including a tree which fell right near our home, miraculously narrowly missing it,” he said.
“It was a huge miracle, we had people right near our home at the time, a student was spared by just a few inches,” Rabbi Oirechman said.
The whole area, including the Chabad Center, is currently without power, and Rabbi Oirechman is coordinating getting generators to be able to hold Davening services in the Center.
To donate to Chabad of Tallahassee as they deal with this emergency, click here.
