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‘Scooped us up and helped us:’ Donations aid Melbourne couple after tornado damages their 1st home

Daniel, Elizabeth Liuzzo moved into dream home 4 weeks before twister blew through neighborhood

MELBOURNE, Fla. – After a tornado blew through Melbourne neighborhoods near Sarno Road on Thursday, a couple who had just bought their first house together can no longer live in their dream home.

Daniel and Elizabeth Liuzzo have moved back to their old apartment until they find a way to rebuild.

“We have our moments especially after getting off calls with insurance or coming here and then just seeing what we had started making plans for our new home to be,” Elizabeth Liuzzo said about how the couple is holding up.

The Liuzzos got married last September and said they were saving to buy a house since they got engaged.

“And then within 20 seconds, that has changed drastically,” Elizabeth Liuzzo said.

Thursday’s storm dislodged their roof, among other damages. There is hope, however, thanks to family, neighbors and others who want to help.

A GoFundMe has collected thousands in donations since the storm to help pay for immediate expenses and temporary repairs.

The Liuzzos said they keep reminding themselves that they’re safe.

“It could’ve been way worse, and I think the most humbling thing has been seeing how our family and friends and community have truly just like scooped us up and helped us,” Elizabeth Liuzzo said.

After showing News 6′s James Sparvero their backyard, Daniel Liuzzo then led the way through debris, trees and inactive power lines, to show the damage inside the house.

“This is the path that we’ve been having to take to get through,” Daniel said. “We’re going to come into what was our dining room.”

He pointed to what used to be a backdoor through the dining room that’s now covered by a tarp.

“You can see the roof from two streets over that ended up coming over and hitting our house,” Daniel Liuzzo said.

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