JOHNSTON COUNTY, N.C. -- People across North Carolina spent Wednesday cleaning up their homes and property after a long line of severe weather swept across the state Tuesday night. Rain drenched most of the state, and strong winds toppled trees and knocked out power lines in several areas.
Donnie Griffin and his wife had their lives uprooted Tuesday night when strong winds brought a tree crashing down through their roof, just a few feet away from where Griffin was standing.
"I'm a lucky fellow, so I'm just happy I was where I was,” Griffin said.
It's a sight neighbors hoped they wouldn't see again, especially after weathering Hurricane Fran a few years ago.
"[I’m] thankful it wasn't mine, but sorry for the people that it was because damage like this is hard to take, especially if you've just moved into a house and haven't lived there too long. It's quite difficult,” neighbor Josephine Lawson said.
The Griffins bought the house just a year and a half ago. It was the couple’s first home. A friend of the previous homeowner says there were actually talks about cutting the tree down, but the homeowner didn't want to because she believed it to be one of the oldest trees in Clayton.
Now it appears that nature has taken care of that itself, and the Griffins are left hoping that their insurance will take care of other matters. Contractors estimate the repair could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
"Looking at it, I'm sure it's going to be a pretty complicated process, so we're planning on being out for quite a while,” Griffin said.
Now that the storm has passed, the Griffins will replant and start building their lives all over again.
The storms also knocked out power for thousands of residents. Progress Energy reported close to 88,000 outages across the state, mostly in Wake and Johnston counties.
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