ORLANDO, Fla. — Hours before the Hurricane Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida, something was brewing to the east: a historic outbreak of tornadoes, the most in a single day in the state of Florida.

What You Need To Know

  • A historic tornado outbreak hit Florida amid Hurricane Milton, causing extensive damage 

  • The National Weather Service in Miami issued 126 warnings for 46 confirmed tornadoes

  • Betty Queen survived one of those tornadoes in her home with her four adult children

  • Months later, Queen is rebuilding and her neighborhood still bears the scars from the tornado

  • Learn more: Hurricane Milton recap

According to the National Weather Service in Miami, 126 warnings were issued for 46 confirmed tornadoes. Some tornadoes were classified as EF2s and EF3s, with significant clusters in south Florida leading to at least six confirmed deaths in the Spanish Lakes 55+ community in Port. St. Lucie.

“A hurricane is not simply a single point, it’s not the eye or the eye wall. It is hundreds and hundreds of miles away from the center,” said Sammy Hadi, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Miami. “In this case, the first you know that was actually on the ground was in the early morning hours of Oct. 9th. Hurricane Milton didn’t even make landfall until the evening. It goes to show you that hazards can begin well, well ahead of a hurricane making landfall.”

About 40 minutes down U.S. 1 from Port St. Lucie, Betty Queen lived through one of those tornadoes, huddled in her Stuart home with her four adult children.

The tornado peeled off the roof, tossed tree limbs through windows, and tossed the family’s cars like toys in the yard. Queen, a woman of strong faith, said that she wasn’t scared in those bleak moments.

Tornado flipped a car over on its roof (Courtesy: Betty Queen)

“I’m a praying woman. I protect myself with God,” she said. “Everyone come to me and say, ‘You’re a brave woman.’ I say, ‘Thank you, I dedicate my life to God for a reason.’ You can always build back, but you can’t get another Betty.”

Yet, months later, there’s been little rebuilding going on. The neighborhood still bears the scars of the tornado, from tattered flags and blue tarps, to twisted trees still leaning in the same direction.

The home where Queen has lived for the last 39 years no longer stands. The woman made the tough decision to tear down the uninhabitable house on Colee Avenue and Dell Street. For the past few months, she has been living in a motel paid for by FEMA funds.

And while it’s a frustrating situation, Queen she said that she’s grateful for the help she received in the tornado’s aftermath which came in every direction, from the Red Cross to Catholic Charities. And more importantly — perhaps miraculously — no one in her home was injured.

Now, as she receives quotes to rebuild, Queen is resolute that it will be in the same spot she raised her children, grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

“The neighborhood I’m in, I see so much love in it. It makes me want to come back and give them the remaining of the love, right back here. Everybody says, ‘Why don’t you sell it and go elsewhere?’” she said. “This is my land. I want to rebuild and let the community know that I came back being real strong and faithful.”

After the tornado, searchers marked Queen's home to tell others it had been searched. (Courtesy: Betty Queen)