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Journalism of Courage
Tornadoes roared through central Florida before dawn on Friday, tearing roofs off houses, flattening a church built to withstand hurricanes and sucking people from their beds into lakes and piles of debris. At least 19 died in the flash of destruction that hit while they slept. While thunderstorms and the tornadoes they spawn are common throughout Florida year-round, the blast that gathered over the northern Gulf of Mexico late on Thursday and swept across the state between 3 am and 4 am was the deadliest in nearly a decade. Governor Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency for the four counties hardest hit. Power was knocked out to 44,000 homes.
