Chumuckla Storm Damage

Damage Home A hop skip and a jump from Molino the twister found Chumuckla in Santa Rosa County.

by Debbie Williams

Published: Mon, February 18, 2008 - 3:49 pm CST Last Updated: Mon, February 18, 2008 - 6:55 pm CST

A hop, skip and a jump away from Molino, the twister found Chumuckla, in Santa Rosa, County. Two home suffered damage there. One very minor and then there was Alvin Enfinger home.
When it comes to bad weather, Alvin Enfinger has been pretty lucky. "I never worried about it cause generally, it goes a hundred yards this way and a hundred yards another way," says Enfinger.
This time, the twister was on course for a direct hit. His daughter Beth Burch called to warn him, "I said Daddy there is a tornado in Molino and it's heading your way."
"I went to a window and looked out in the direction I thought it was coming from Molino," says Enfinger. "I didn't see any debris but all of a sudden this bush right here just laid over flat the wind was so strong."
When it was over, he called his daughter back. "He said it was raining in the den, my old bedroom, my sisters old bedroom and he said the back porch is gone," says Burch.
To give you some idea of how strong the storm was, the Enfinger family had just had a metal shed built that was rated to sustain 140 mile per hour winds. The storm was so strong it sheered the bolts that were holding it together. "Probably 50 of em out there, just sheered them off in a split second and it was gone," he says.
Gone also is the back porch, he doesn't know where it ended up. Farm equipment is no longer where he left it, a grain bin smashed, a hay rack tossed and then there is that big hole in his roof. "This one here centered right on my house," he says. There's a lot of damage, a lot to clean up but a whole lot more to be thankful for, "I'm extremely lucky," says Enfinger.
A second home in Chumuckla received minor damage from the twister and falling trees. No other damage was reported in Santa Rosa County and no one was hurt.

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