Lady Lake, Fla. ? Disaster crews with dogs went from one pile of debris to another in a search for bodies Friday after powerful storms, including at least one tornado, smashed hundreds of homes across central Florida and killed 19 people or more.

It was the second-deadliest combination of thunderstorms and tornados in Florida history, cutting a 40-mile swath of destruction across four counties just before daybreak, terrorizing residents of one of the nation’s biggest retirement communities, and leaving trees and fields littered with clothes, furniture and splintered lumber.

Residents helped pull the dead from the ruins.

“It was scary, really scary,” said Patrick Smith, who lives in the Paisley area, where at least 13 deaths were reported. He said he saw a weather alert on television, grabbed his wife and “went straight to the floor.” After the storm passed, he pulled the bodies of a man and his 9- or 10-year-old son from a neighboring house.

Florida’s emergency management chief, Craig Fugate, said it could take several days to determine the exact number of dead, and the main priority was finding survivors who may be trapped.

Gov. Charlie Crist asked President Bush to declare a major disaster for Florida as a result of the storms. Crist already declared a state of emergency in four counties, but the worst damage was reported where the twister touched down in northern Lake County and eastern Volusia County. In typical tornado fashion, the storm hopscotched across the landscape, demolishing some homes and leaving others virtually untouched.

“Our priority today is search and rescue,” said Crist, who toured the damaged area in his first natural disaster since taking office last month. “Everything’s being done to get them the aid and assistance that they need.”

DeLand, Fla., resident Bill Bailey looks at the remains of the bedroom he was sleeping in after early-morning storms blew through Friday in Florida. At least 19 people were killed in the storms.

Lake County spokesman Christopher Patton said there were 19 confirmed deaths, all in Lake County, about 50 miles northwest of Orlando. The dead included at least two high school students, authorities said. Numerous injuries were reported, but officials could not immediately estimate how many.

Officials in Lake and Volusia counties ordered dusk-to-dawn curfews in heavily damaged areas to prevent looting and injuries to residents trying to sift through wreckage in the dark.

Authorities said hundreds of houses, mobile homes and other buildings were damaged or destroyed. Volusia County reported a preliminary estimate of $80 million in damage involving 500 properties.

The storm left yards strewn with chairs, beds and clothes, knocked tractor-trailers onto their sides as if they were toys, and tore away roofs. Debris hung from trees, and some homes were thrown off their foundations.

Dozens of rescue workers – many hardened by experience with Florida’s multiple hurricanes – went from house to house, spray-painting big red X’s to mark the husks of buildings that they had checked. Often they found people who awoke to the storm’s roar and watched their homes disintegrate around them.