LADY LAKE, Fla. -- A deaf woman in Lady Lake who lost her home when a tornado ripped through Central Florida early Friday said the sound of the twister was so loud that she heard it without her hearing aids and was able to run for cover.

At least 14 people were killed and hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed when a super cell storm moved through Central Florida and produced several possible tornadoes.

Officials said some of the worst damage was reported in Lady Lake.

Karen Madigan, who is deaf, told Local 6's Mike DeForest that there was an explosion after a loud noise woke her up early Friday.

"At about 3:15 or 3:30 a.m., I heard it and I'm deaf," Madigan said. "I wear hearing aids and I take my hearing aids off at night, and I heard this sound and it got louder and louder and louder. Then I knew right there it was a tornado. I just rolled out of bed and held on to the carpet. The next thing you know, it was exploding everywhere."

One of Madigan's neighbors said the tornado hit as everyone was sleeping.

"It was actually hitting before we could roll out of the bed," another storm victim said. "I fell at the foot of my bed, and I got glass stuck in my knee from a broken window so it had already hit the side of the house."

During a Friday morning conference, Crist announced that he declared a state of emergency for Lake, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia counties after storms killed at least 14 and destroyed hundreds of homes.

"Our priority today is search and rescue," Crist said. "We want to make sure that anybody who is in the affected area that we make sure we get them out safely. Local officials and firefighters are doing that."

Three of the 14 confirmed fatalities were reported in Lady Lake.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.