PORT RICHEY (FOX 13) - The aftermath of a tornado in Pasco County was an all-day affair Thursday for produce stand owner Britt Smith. He nearly lost his chicken coop - and the birds inside - in the chaos.
"I was really worried about the chicken coop. I walked back to look and it was gone," Smith, the owner of Organic Guys Fruits and Vegetables said. "I figured they were dead; just sucked up in the wind."
Those same winds tore off lanais, flipped trees and ripped up car ports.
"We have 52 properties that have suffered minor to affected damage, five that are major," said Pasco County Emergency Management Director Kevin Gutherie.
Miraculously though, Smith's birds all survived their whirlwind experience with only a few ruffled feathers.
"The chickens have become pets, so they're irreplaceable," he said.