Florida Girl, 4, Weeps as She Recounts How Falling Tree Ruined Her Home During Hurricane Michael

The child and her family were staying in a shelter.

Four-year-old Daniela Olivera broke down sobbing as she recalled her mobile home being destroyed by a falling tree as Hurricane Michael ripped through her neighborhood.

"I was just crying," the child said, rubbing her eyes as her mother her. She and her family are now at a shelter in Bristol. Her mom, Perla, shook her head when asked what she lost back home. "Nothing," she said, as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Just material things that can be replaced."

The Oliveras were among hundreds who evacuated their homes in the Florida Panhandle as Michael bore down Wednesday. 

Another shelter resident, Dan Haggerty, left his waterfront home in Apalachicola, but many of his friends stayed behind. "I'm worrying about my buddies," he said.

Some 8,000 people hunkered down in 41 shelters across Florida during the massive storm. Evacuation orders were issued to 375,000 residents, but most stayed put. At least seven people perished in the devastating downpour, including an 11-year-old Georgia girl crushed by a carport.

RELATED STORIES