PALM BEACH GARDENS — A tornado wove its way to Avenir on Wednesday as Hurricane Milton crossed Palm Beach County and damaged homes and businesses in the growing neighborhood in western Palm Beach Gardens.
The tornado caused no casualties in Avenir, which sits at the western end of Northlake Boulevard north of The Acreage, said Candice Temple, Palm Beach Gardens’ communications director. It reached the community at about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, prompting a pair of 911 calls to first responders.
The immediate area of concern is Avenir’s town center, Temple said. Several people shared photos on social media of the damage to the Publix Supermarket under construction.
It was not yet clear Thursday whether it was the same tornado that injured five people and tore apart homes in Wellington and The Acreage minutes earlier. The National Weather Service had investigators in the county on Thursday to assess the situation.
Danny Lopez, a principal with Avenir, called the storm a “powerful tornado,” but noted that damage was not done to the entire Avenir communitty.
“The damage is localized in a few areas,” Lopez said. “We’ve brought in cleanup crews for all of those affected areas.”
Lopez praised the response from Palm Beach Gardens, which already had a crew of staff members waiting at Sandhill Golf Club in case there were problems from the storm, so they were able to help people right when the tornado left.
In Avenir, power lines and lots of trees fell down. The police department went door-to-door on Wednesday to make sure people were safe. Christ Fellowship church sent volunteers to the community to give crews food and water.
Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Hurricane Milton: Tornado damaged homes, businesses in Avenir area
