Tornadoes Wreak Havoc Across Tampa Bay, Killing 4

Tornadoes hopscotched across the Tampa Bay area for hours Saturday, killing four people at mobile home parks and smashing dozens of houses into splinters, authorities said.

A two-day storm with winds gusting up to 90 m.p.h. also was blamed for sinking a freighter. All 15 crew members were rescued after the 255-foot Holstein went down with 2,000 tons of flour late Friday in the Gulf of Mexico.

The tornadoes killed three people at a mobile home park in Pinellas Park and one in nearby Largo as they raged from mid-morning to early afternoon, said Pinellas Park Police spokesman Lee Lerchen. He said more than 100 homes were destroyed or damaged by the storm.

By early evening, Pinellas Park authorities said they had surveyed the worst-hit buildings and didn’t expect to discover more deaths.

Some homes were left a pile of splinters and roofs were torn down to the plywood in scenes reminiscent of the damage inflicted by Hurricane Andrew six weeks ago.

“Everything that was in our living room is in our kitchen and everything in our kitchen is in our garage,” said Kathy Hyatt, who came to a shelter with her husband and two children after reports of gas leaks in the area. “I can’t believe we’re all OK.”

Three shelters opened and about 30 people were bused in from damaged neighborhoods.

The tornado that touched down in Largo wrecked a gas station, knocked down billboards and shredded a nursery, twisting an iron gate and scattering blobs of insulation across the parking lot.

Police were investigating reports of looting, said police Sgt. Don Holcomb.

“The storm did a lot of jumping and skipping. We actually had people in their yard watch a tornado pass over and then drop down and hit another home a block away,” Holcomb said.

At least five tornadoes were sighted as the front moved northeast across the state, said Chuck Eggleton, a National Weather Service forecaster in Tampa. A tornado watch was in effect during the day for 24 counties and for coastal waters.

The storm in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico soaked areas from Key West to Alabama and Louisiana, knocked out power to 30,000 people and caused flooding as far away as Daytona Beach, which received two inches of rain, officials said.