JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Business owners and neighbors are still cleaning up after an EF-1 tornado ripped through Jacksonville's Southside Friday.
On Beach Boulevard, a blue tarp covers part of a shopping plaza's building. The Forgotten Toy Box is open, but there's a hole in their ceiling and a fan on the floor to dry out the carpet after their roof was ripped off.
Next door, a handwritten sign is on the door of 90 Miles From Cuba stating the restaurant will not be open. A tarp sits on its roof.
Beside the restaurant, K Cuts Barbershop is also closed and has parts of its ceiling missing inside. The owner said he doesn't know when they'll be able to reopen.
"Waiting for the insurance and waiting for the landlord," said Kelvin Hernandez, the owner of K Cuts.
Hernandez is not only worried about no business but his seven barbers are now without a job.
"Everyone doesn’t have a job now and I don’t know how long it’ll take to fix that," he said. "I’m scared because I need to pay the rent. I have another shop; I have my house my bills two kids."
Across Beach Boulevard in Grove Park, Michael Vargas and his family have been dealing with a massive tree that fell in their yard. They spent the weekend cutting through it.
“My first thought is, I thank God because he protected us and made sure it didn’t fall on our house," Vargas said. "When it happened at the moment, it was crazy because it was unexpected.”
Nearby resident Darlene Griffith said she is thankful no people or pets were hurt during Friday's weather. She said a tree that wasn’t even on her property flattened her back porch and smashed holes through her walls, window and roof.
“It’s pretty early to be doing storm cleanup,” said Abner Reyes who owns a landscaping company and was working in Grove Park.
Reyes is still getting used to the idea of tornadoes in Jacksonville.