custom ad
NewsDecember 17, 2007

LAND O' LAKES, Fla. -- An apparent tornado demolished a jail building and overturned vehicles early Sunday in central Florida, authorities said. No injuries were reported. The storm was reported about 5:15 a.m. in Pasco County, the National Weather Service said...

The Associated Press

LAND O' LAKES, Fla. -- An apparent tornado demolished a jail building and overturned vehicles early Sunday in central Florida, authorities said. No injuries were reported.

The storm was reported about 5:15 a.m. in Pasco County, the National Weather Service said.

One of two minimum-security annex buildings at the Pasco County Jail in Land O' Lakes was destroyed, sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said. The approximately 125 female inmates it housed had been evacuated moments earlier to the main jail.

Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!

"A few seconds after shutting the door is when that structure basically collapsed," Tobin said.

The destroyed building was a temporary structure used to ease overcrowding and designed to withstand winds up to 110 miles per hour, according to a county Web site.

A second annex, housing about 100 male inmates, did not sustain any serious damage, Tobin said. The roof was damaged on the main prison building, which holds about 950 inmates.

Pasco County is north of Tampa Bay on Florida's Gulf Coast.

Story Tags
Advertisement

Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:

For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.

Advertisement
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!