MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – A big part of Hurricane Irma's destruction in Brevard County came from tornado damage. Multiple mobile homes in the Island Lakes neighborhood were destroyed.
While 90,000 people in the county still did not have power Thursday, Island Lakes resident Ann Placher reminded News 6 viewers who have a roof over their head and a floor beneath their feet that they're among the lucky ones.
"What's next? Demolish the place," the 70-year-old widow said Thursday about what's left of her Wood Stork Drive mobile home. "I have no roof. That's all my clothes that are soaking wet," she pointed out to News 6, showing the damage to the home built in 1988.
Placher said she's holding up well, considering the circumstances of losing her home of 12 years.
"I'm fortunate to be alive," she said. "I wasn't expecting a tornado," she added about her thoughts ahead of Irma's arrival.
The hurricane brought 21 tornado warnings to Brevard County.
Six were confirmed touchdowns.
Thankfully, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said the destructive path on Wood Stork Drive on Sunday was not deadly.
"The real heroes are those guys cleaning it up," said neighbor Mark Link, Placher's brother-in-law, about cleanup crews working Thursday.
Placher told News 6 she's ready to move on.
She won't be leaving home entirely empty-handed.
"My china was untouched, which I'm packing away right now," she said.
Placher's china collection is one valuable material item to carry out with a priceless amount of perspective.
"Absolutely heed the warning when they tell you to evacuate," she said.
Placher said she evacuated to Kissimmee ahead of Irma.
She said she's applied for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
All other Brevard County residents wishing to apply may now do so, as well.