Brevard County residents assess damage after hail storm

Large amounts of hail, looking like snow, falls on southern portion of county

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Cleanup and repairs are happening in a neighborhood that’s among the hardest hit by a powerful afternoon storm on Wednesday.

Sheet metal and other debris are scattered in Lamplighter Village, which is a 55 and over community near I-95 and Eau Gallie Blvd.

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On Thursday, Patricia Walker was with several neighbors who were surveying the damage.

“All of a sudden, it was pitch black,” Walker said. “It sounded like machine gun fire. It was that hail hitting my house.”

Walker’s home remained intact, but an area outside was destroyed by strong winds.

“None of my windows got broken,” Walker said. “The only thing is my patio is history. It went airborne and now I have hanging metal and all that.”

A few houses away, Eva Alayon and her husband came home to an even worse situation.

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“Our roof ended up 250 feet across the street behind our neighbor’s house,” Alayon said. “It’s going to be probably a little bit before we get it fixed and insured and see what’s covered.”

So much hail fell in parts of south Brevard County that it looked like snow had fallen.

While cleanup continues in several areas, Alayon said she’s heartbroken over the damage, but determined to rebuild.

“The community has kind of banded together to help each other out at this time,” Alayon said.

[STORY CONTINUES BELOW]


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About the Author:

Mark Lehman became a News 6 reporter in July 2014, but he's been a Central Florida journalist and part of the News 6 team for much longer. While most people are fast asleep in their bed, Mark starts his day overnight by searching for news on the streets of Central Florida.

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