In comparison to a hurricane, the tornado that hit Palm Beach Gardens in Palm Beach County on April 29 resulted in less damage however it was still a devastating event that impacted property, homeowners, vehicles, and insurance consumers in the area, according to experts.
“Those individuals who did sustain damage as a result of the tornado should be filing a claim with their insurance company as quickly as possible if they haven't already done so,” said Florida's Insurance Consumer Advocate Tasha Carter.
The EF2 tornado produced 130 mph winds and was about a quarter of a mile wide but its path extended to more than 2 miles even though it was only on the ground for 11 even minutes, according to media reports.
“Individuals who have an auto insurance policy that includes comprehensive coverage, their insurance companies should be able to repair or replace their vehicle upon filing a claim,” Carter told the Florida Record. “For those insurance consumers who sustain damage to their homes or other items on their property, they should be filing an insurance claim with their homeowner's insurance company as well.”
One of the properties that were damaged was the Point at Palm Beach Gardens apartments adjacent to U.S. 1 near PGA Boulevard.
“Some of the challenges insurance consumers may face may not be specific to this storm as opposed to just general claim-related challenges as they go through the process,” Carter said in an interview. “Once they file an insurance claim, they should be providing as much detail and as much information to the insurance company as possible relative to the damage that was sustained.”
The National Oceanic Atmospheric Association, which is responsible for determining when a storm is assigned a name, did not label the tornado.
"In terms of comparing it to Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Nicole, Hurricane Michael or Hurricane Ahma, it did not cause as much damage in comparison to those storms," Carter added.
As previously reported by the Miami Herald, at $109 billion in damages, Hurricane Ian is remembered as the most expensive storm in Florida's history while Hurricane Nicole was the final storm of the 2022 Hurricane Season, which touched the ground near Vero Beach. Hurricane Michael is known for lasting ten days in 2018 and causing $25.5 billion in damage from winds blowing 162 mph.
In 2017, Hurricane Irma, a category 3 storm, was the first hurricane to touch land in South Florida with the wind blowing 155 mph, according to the National Weather Service.