Metro Atlanta storm damage: Severe weather topples trees into homes
Severe storm topples tree onto home; residents displaced
A wave of severe storms wreaked havoc across metro Atlanta, sending rotting trees crashing into homes and blocking major commuter roads.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A powerful line of storms tore through metro Atlanta, bringing down massive trees that smashed into a west side home and blocked a major commuter route on the east side of DeKalb County.
Westside home damage
Local perspective:
Uchenna Godwin-Offor was at work when he received an emergency call alerting him that a massive tree had crashed directly into his west side home. When he arrived at the scene, he found the structure heavily damaged by the fallen trunk. Godwin-Offor lives in the A unit on the opposite side of the impacted building.
Residents stated that the tree had been a visible problem for a while. The landlord informed the tenants last Saturday or last week that tree cutters were scheduled to remove it. An inspection of the fallen trunk revealed that the middle of the tree was rotting.
"I was also thinking that, okay, if somebody was in there, they could have died. I was thinking I hope everything is fine. I saw this, and I panicked, but I saw everyone outside," Godwin-Offor added.
Eastside Candler Road blockage
Severe weather patterns wreaked havoc across the entire metropolitan area, tracking from the west side all the way to the east side. In DeKalb County, torrential downpours oversaturated the ground and knocked a separate tree down.
Tyasia Cloud, who lives right off Candler Road, heard the trunk snap and echo through her neighborhood. The collapse brought traffic to a complete standstill on Candler Road for several hours, forcing frustrated motorists to turn their vehicles around.
"Yes I heard the boom. It was a loud boom. Yeah, you all got to be careful," Cloud stated.
What's next:
Godwin-Offor expressed deep relief that his neighbors and roommates were already outside the structure when the collapse occurred. Because the property remains unsafe to occupy, the affected tenants are packing their immediate belongings. The residents plan to stay at a friend's place located just up the street.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from resident Uchenna Godwin-Offor, who explained how his home was struck, as well as DeKalb County resident Tyasia Cloud.