“I heard a loud noise so
I ducked and covered”
Hurricane Irma ripped through the southeast last week. Although the damage was at its peak in parts of the Caribbean and Florida, many Athenians were left without power and suffered damage to their homes.
Five UGA alumnus, living in Five Points Athens, suffered a tree to their house last Monday afternoon. Michelle Schwartz, 22 was in her bedroom during the storm and heard a noise that she knew was not a good sign.
“I heard a loud noise so I ducked and covered and the first layer of the ceiling fell on me,” said Schwartz.
The house was built in the 1970s and suffered damage from a tree on its right side (see Image 1). Schwartz bedroom and the living room were affected, resulting in Schwartz temporarily moving into the sunroom. Schwartz says her landlord Rocky Moore has been amicable to the renters by taking immediate action in repair with a finishing date sometime next week. In addition to Moore’s promptness, he has also given the renters free rent for the next month.
In east Athens, Edward Roberson had half of his front yard ripped up by a fallen tree that had been on his property in the Cedar Creek neighborhood for 43 years.
“We had no idea it had fallen,” Roberson said. “We were out to dinner on Monday night and when we came back, it was dark. We didn’t notice it right away.”
The tree had a dry and rotten core root system, providing no support against the strong wind gusts of Irma. The ground was also softened by the rain.
