Storms leave trail of damage in metro Atlanta

ATLANTA — Parts of metro Atlanta saw storms sweep through Wednesday, bringing down trees, spraying debris into the streets and even forming a funnel cloud.
 
One family in Hall County lost part of their home due to a fallen tree.
 
"We come home and it was like this," said homeowner Pam Waldo.
 
When Channel 2's Craig Lucie met Waldo sitting on the back of a truck with her family, she said she started to cry when she saw her house damaged.
 
"I started crying. I don't know what we are going to do now," Waldo said.
 
The tree crushed the roof above one room of the home. The family said their son is usually in the bedroom during the time of day when the tree came crashing down, but fortunately they were at the doctor's office.
 
One neighbor said the storm was frightening.
 
"It was pretty scary. Real scary. I mean, really hard wind rain," said neighbor Sandra Wofford.
 
Wofford said from her front porch, she watched the severe thunderstorm roll into Flowery Branch with winds around 45 mph.
 
"The trees were just falling like crazy. We jumped back in house," Wofford said. "If it wasn't for the tree guys right here I don't know what we would have done."
 
The Waldo family is getting help from the Georgia Tree Company for free.
 
"She has a small son, 7 years old. I have four small children so I can certainly relate to horrific events. Not all of us are lucky enough to have insurance so I figured it was the right thing to do," said Joe Guaracino with Georgia Tree Company.
 
Waldo said she will be staying with a family member Wednesday night, but family members don't know what they are going to do or where they are going to stay Thursday.

Stone Mountain family's home hit by falling tree

A DeKalb County family is working to clean up after a large tree fell on their home on Nimblewood Way in Stone Mountain.
 
Neighbors said they heard a loud lightning strike, the tree split in half and is now resting on the house.
 
"My neighbor called me while I was at work and said really bad rain, thunder and lightning. They heard the actual strikes and lots of thunder," said Marlice Casnave, who lives at the house.
 
Casnave said she is thankful her son was called in early to work, so he wasn't home either when the tree split in half.
 
Her husband is a contractor and is starting to assess the damage at the home.
 
"When we first looked at it, we thought it was just water damage inside the house, but it penetrated through the roof and there is a lot of water damage throughout," Casnave said.
 
On Wednesday night, neighbors continuously stopped by to make sure the family was OK, and take a look at the damage.
 
"I am just thankful, very, very thankful that everywhere is safe," Casnave said.

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