ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A severe line of thunderstorms and tornados barged through central Florida early Friday, killing at least 19 people.
The storms caused havoc in the large retirement villages and mobile home parks of inland Florida.
"Everything just exploded," Ralph Shifflet, a resident of The Villages, a retirement community that sprawls across three counties, told the Orlando Sentinel.
Thirteen deaths were reported in the Paisley-Lake Mack area and three in Lady Lake, both towns in Lake County. The other deaths were reported in Volusia County.
There were reports of severe damage in Seminole, Brevard and Sumter counties.
Umatilla High School Principal June Dalton said as many as 20 percent of the students were absent -- some because their homes were gone and some because roads were blocked by debris and downed trees. She said counselors were being brought in to help students cope with losses.
Among the severe traffic accidents was one that shut down Interstate 4 in both directions for several hours in Volusia County.
