ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — The names of six people killed by a "devastating" tornado generated by Hurricane Milton were released on Tuesday by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you of the tragic passing of the following St. Lucie County residents who lost their lives as a direct result of the tornado that touched down in Spanish Lakes," Sheriff Keith Pearson said.
The victims' names include:
- William Cutlip, 82
- Mary Vilamantez, 70
- Alejandro Alonso, 66
- Roger Ammon, 85
- Sandra Macdonald, 84
- Deborah Kennedy, 66
"I, along with the men and women of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, express our heartfelt condolences to their family and friends during this extremely difficult time," Pearson said.
The tornado also destroyed a 10,000-square-foot red iron building that housed the sheriff's office's patrol cars, pictures of which went viral after the storm.
No one was in the building at the time it collapsed and no injuries were reported, according to Pearson.
READ MORE: 'Devastating tornado' destroys 10K square-foot building at St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office
Hurricane Milton is believed to have spawned dozens of tornadoes across Florida as it approached landfall, but meteorologists won't have an exact number for quite some time.
The National Weather Service's usual protocol for tornado confirmation is to deploy survey crews to the scene of damage less than 24 hours after storms hit. That becomes a lot more complicated if the site is in the path of a hurricane, has extensive damage, and isn't accessible for days after the storm.