By Jo-Ann Johnston
The Tampa Tribune

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SAN ANTONIO - This morning, work crews from Pasco County, the American Red Cross and private companies started cleaning up the damage a Christmas tornado left behind at Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club.

No one was seriously injured when the tornado twister touched down at this suburban subdivision around 11:30 a.m., said Mike Circcarello, a Pasco County Fire Rescue battalion chief. However, residents have been temporarily forced out of about 15 homes because of heavy structural damage.

”There’s no roof on the place,” said Phil Vickers.  The home he and his wife Sandy share on Caddyshack Drive is now covered by a blue tarp, and the walls are unsteady. Their home appeared to be one of the most severely damaged, and Vickers said he expects it will take seven to eight months to get the residence completely repaired.

Mary O’Geary, a manager for the American Red Cross, said the nonprofit agency had crews out Tuesday making sure affected families “have a safe, dry place to stay, food to eat and clothes to wear.” Many of those displaced stayed with friends and neighbors Monday evening, she said.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office has added police protection to the neighborhood to safeguard against looting.

Also on Tuesday morning, county sanitation crews started hauling away wreckage and fallen tree limbs to keep the trash from being blown about in the wind and creating even more damage. Ciccarello estimated about 80 homes in all suffered some damage. The first financial estimates put the total damage projection at $700,000, he said, but he expects that number to go much higher as more complete reports come in.

Most of the damage from the tornado was concentrated within several blocks in the subdivision on Caddyshack Drive, Moshie Lane and Princeville Drive.

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