It's been four months since a tornado tore through nearly 8 miles of DeLand, but  on Christmas Even many still have yet to pick up the pieces. 


What You Need To Know

  • A tornado tore through DeLand four months ago

  • Some residents are still rebuilding

  • They say the unrepaired damage to their homes has put a damper on the holiday season

“I have a hole in my roof, half of my house does not have electricity still because we had to cut the power because of the damage that has been done from the tornado,” said Catherine Nahirny.

In stead of feeling joy for the holidays, Nahirny said she was feeling stressed. 

“When I first talked to the insurance company back in September, they were like oh yeah everything is going to be great, come December everything is going to be perfect," said Nahirny. "We are at December 24th now, Christmas Eve, and it hasn’t changed at all.”

She claims she has had issues getting enough money from her insurance company, which has put a damper on the holiday season. While she has her tree up, she’s constantly reminded of another. 

"When the tornado happened it actually blew half of a tree into the bathroom and took it through the roof," said Nahirny. 

She said the fact that it's still not fixed, leaving much of her house without power, affects her family every day. 

“We use a bathroom that is about the quarter of this size that we use in the master bathroom and that is the only way anyone can shower with hot water or use the toilet,” said Nahirny. 

But still, she considered herself lucky this Christmas given what those around her are dealing with. 

 “Everywhere in DeLand theres a lot of people that are still in trailers, there are people who are living in hotels, there are some of my neighbors that are living in a pop up tent outside of their house, they don’t have anywhere else to go,” said Nahirny.

She is hopeful 2021 will be a better year— and one of rebuilding. 

“I know things are going to get worse before they get better but I am hoping that better starts to show up more quickly," said Nahirny.