Fort Walton Beach tornado confirmed (PHOTOS)

FORT WALTON BEACH — Surveyors from the National Weather Service confirmed Fort Walton Beach was hit by a tornado June 21. 

The EF-0 tornado, the weakest class according to the Enhanced Fujita Scale, first touched down near Hollywood Boulevard at 6:18 a.m., the Weather Service's damage report said. 

The tornado traveled northeast for 2.5 miles and ended at 6:20 a.m. near Falcon House Apartments at 645 James Lee Road in Ocean City, according to the report. 

In all, 14 homes, eight roads, Elliot Point Elementary School and Ferry Park sustained damage, according to the Okaloosa County Emergency Operations Center's damage report. 

Although the city of Fort Walton Beach said in its damage assessment that residential and business damage totaled $100,000, homeowners say their damages far exceeds the city's estimate. 

Bob Coptock, who lives at 308 Smith St., said Tuesday that his home alone will cost about $100,000 to repair.

"Everything inside was damaged except for a few odds and ends," Coptock said. "All the walls, floors and ceilings need to be replaced." 

Amanda Wienckowski at 214 Bayshore Drive N.E. said the tornado caused about $20,000 in damage to her home. She said the shingles on her house lifted during the tornado, which allowed water to flood into two of her bedrooms.

Next door to Wienckowski at 100 Walton Drive, Kelly Everett said her home sustained about $8,000 in damage. She said the house received significant flooding in the dinning room, garage and laundry room, and will need a new roof.

Owners of the 11 other homes that were reportedly damaged could not be reached Tuesday. Over five of the homes had blue tarps covering holes in the roofs Tuesday. Tree branches, wet mattresses and other belongings were piled on the front curbs for pickup.

Tim Bolduc, engineering director for the city of Fort Walton Beach, said the damage totals are inconsistent because the city only  completed one initial "windshield assessment" after the storm.  

"The windshield assessment is to identify properties that are unsafe for occupancy and to get the initial assessment for damage costs," Bolduc said. 

The city does not do a second assessment, according to Bodluc, unless the damage reaches enough to signal a state of emergency. 

"It would need to be $20 (million) or $30 million in damage to reach the state of emergency threshold," he said. 

The tornado was near its strongest point when it moved through Ferry Park, with speeds up to 80 mph.

A damage estimate for the park will be released sometime next week, according to Jeff Peters, Fort Walton Beach's recreation director.

The tornado developed during Tropical Storm Cindy last week, whose outer bands brought torrential rain and strong winds to the Florida Panhandle.