A week after an EF-2 tornado from Hurricane Ian, Kings Point residents still seek assistance

Richard Martin, 77, thought he had wind insurance until a tornado tore his Kings Point apartment to shreds. The only thing left perfectly intact was a wall unit made of glass with decorative glass pieces on the shelves, left by the previous owner. Martin had been planning to get rid of it.

When he called his insurance company, he was informed that he did not in fact have the right kind of insurance, and therefore he would not receive any money to recoup what he had lost.

“I thought I still had insurance,” Martin said. “I paid a premium for the year. I thought it covered hurricanes, wind, whatever you want to call it. But apparently I declined that coverage.”

He is living temporarily at the parents of a friend he met through a shared hobby of baseball card collecting. He has no income to afford a new place to stay beyond his Social Security checks and the couple thousand other sports card enthusiasts have raised on GoFundMe on his behalf.

While South Florida was largely spared the worst of Hurricane Ian, the storm’s destruction came in the form of seven tornadoes that tore through Broward and Palm Beach counties on Sept. 27.

The National Weather Service designated six as EF-1 or EF-0, or weak tornadoes, including one that destroyed planes at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines and another that damaged mobile homes in Davie.

But the tornado that ravaged the senior living community of Kings Point west of Delray Beach was an EF-2, the National Weather Service confirmed, a strong tornado not commonly seen in South Florida, let alone one of seven. It lifted the roofs off of houses and moved cars down the street.

Only two people were injured, but the Palm Beach County Buildings Department has so far determined that 58 homes in Kings Point are “unsafe,” a number that may rise as more buildings are inspected.

“There’s a possibility it can [go up] because that was just an inspection made [Sept. 28] when roofs blew off of them,” said Dean Wells, a construction services associate for the department who has been involved in assessing the homes. “There may be other buildings out there.”

None have been condemned, so demolition isn’t required, Wells said. But if necessary repairs are not made to buildings with that designation, they can face demolition.

So far, he said, most are habitable, but have blown out doors and windows. Others need entire roofs replaced and have incurred water damage.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has designated 19 Florida counties for individual assistance, but so far Palm Beach County is not one of them. Without assistance from FEMA, those without the right insurance may be faced with repairs and housing costs they can’t afford.

Palm Beach County is not offering any formal housing assistance for the Kings Point community beyond what is already available, said Lisa De La Rionda, a spokesperson for the county commission.

“We offer many programs for housing assistance, whether it’s rental or temporary, of they’ve found themselves in a homeless situation,” she said.

Martin said he called the county a few times and left messages, but never heard back.

More than 30 residents of Kings Point evacuated last Tuesday night. About 20 went to a makeshift shelter in the South County Civic Center, where their numbers started to dwindle the next day. Some went home to friends or family members, others to hotels or rentals.

De La Rionda wouldn’t say what happened to the rest because she can’t reveal “personal information,” but did say the county has been involved, and that there was no longer a public shelter.

The number of those affected was so small, De La Rionda said, the county was handling it on a case-by-case basis.

Over the past week, Martin has begun to feel that he’s worn out his welcome.

“I’m starting to notice that I’m not comfortable,” he said. “I’m sure they’re much less comfortable than I am. I can’t impose on these people indefinitely.”

Designation for disaster relief requires several steps. The Florida Division of Emergency Management has to go door-to-door to conduct damage assessments, then submit them to FEMA. The amount of damage has to meet a certain threshold to qualify the county for relief.

“They are assessing the hardest-hit areas first,” said Deanna Frazier, a spokesperson for FEMA’s Florida division. She couldn’t say where in the process Palm Beach County stood or when they might expect an answer.

If FEMA doesn’t act soon, Martin said, he will have to continue to couch surf. He can’t afford to rent, and he still has to spend $500 a month on homeowners association fees, he said, even though he isn’t living there.

Esther Rose, the mother of Martin’s friend who has been hosting him, said she had agreed to take in Martin but hadn’t expected the situation to stretch on indefinitely.

But she remained hopeful that he would find somewhere else in the near future.

“In a week or two’s time, it’ll all be forgotten,” she said.

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