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A tornado cut a destructive path through a Westlake neighborhood on Wednesday, leaving behind damage to several homes on Verret and Evergreen roads. No injuries were reported afterwards.
Linda Istre, who lives on Evergreen and rents out a second home on Verret, narrowly missed the event . Arriving at her Evergreen home, she was shocked to see so much damage, which included a tree near her front yard that had been snapped in half, missing her home by mere inches.
“I was on my way home when it happened, which was between 4 and 4:30 p.m.,” said Istre. “I came home and saw that the roof of my carport as well as the one for the front porch had both completely flipped over onto the roof of my house. My porch swing is also on my roof, and one of the metal poles for the carport was completely pulled out. I still can’t find it.”
In shock, she didn’t realize that her home still had electricity.
“I saw that the lights on the phone and the computer were still on but it didn’t register that I had electricity. I was in shock, searching around in the dark with a flashlight for my insurance papers,” she said.
On Thursday morning, she was at her rental on Verret, which sits behind her Evergreen home, surveying the damage there. By all appearances, the mobile home looked as if it had sustained the most damage in the neighborhood.
The severe damage to the roof is apparent as well as the hole on the backside.
“The roof of the house was destroyed, and the porch roof collapsed. It was raining in the house,” said Istre.
She pointed to a tree in the front yard that had a large piece of plywood dangling from it.
“That is part of the door to the shed that was in the backyard,” said Istre, who also pointed to the remainder of the door laying near the front ditch.
The family who was renting the home from Istre escaped without injury. However, she is concerned about where they will be able to live while she deals with insurance concerns and repairs. The couple and their three children just moved into the area from Texas about three to four months ago.
“Who knows how long it will be before they can get back into the home,” she said.
She also doesn’t know when she will be back home. Although the damage may not be as severe as that at the Verret home, she will be without electricity while crews cut down the tree and repairs are made to the utility pole.
Istre continued to walk the property and was saddened to see so many fallen trees. There were several uprooted and damaged trees on her property and the neighbors to the south of the Verret home sustained damage from an uprooted tree landing across the front corner of their home.
“I hate that the trees are gone. I lost so many in the hurricane,” she said.
She was also overwhelmed by thoughts of the clean up.
“I really don’t have anyone who can help me,” she said shaking her head. “I just don’t know how I’m going to clean all this up.”
A tornado cut a destructive path through a Westlake neighborhood on Wednesday, leaving behind damage to several homes on Verret and Evergreen roads. No injuries were reported afterwards.
Linda Istre, who lives on Evergreen and rents out a second home on Verret, narrowly missed the event . Arriving at her Evergreen home, she was shocked to see so much damage, which included a tree near her front yard that had been snapped in half, missing her home by mere inches.
“I was on my way home when it happened, which was between 4 and 4:30 p.m.,” said Istre. “I came home and saw that the roof of my carport as well as the one for the front porch had both completely flipped over onto the roof of my house. My porch swing is also on my roof, and one of the metal poles for the carport was completely pulled out. I still can’t find it.”
In shock, she didn’t realize that her home still had electricity.
“I saw that the lights on the phone and the computer were still on but it didn’t register that I had electricity. I was in shock, searching around in the dark with a flashlight for my insurance papers,” she said.
On Thursday morning, she was at her rental on Verret, which sits behind her Evergreen home, surveying the damage there. By all appearances, the mobile home looked as if it had sustained the most damage in the neighborhood.
The severe damage to the roof is apparent as well as the hole on the backside.
“The roof of the house was destroyed, and the porch roof collapsed. It was raining in the house,” said Istre.
She pointed to a tree in the front yard that had a large piece of plywood dangling from it.
“That is part of the door to the shed that was in the backyard,” said Istre, who also pointed to the remainder of the door laying near the front ditch.
The family who was renting the home from Istre escaped without injury. However, she is concerned about where they will be able to live while she deals with insurance concerns and repairs. The couple and their three children just moved into the area from Texas about three to four months ago.
“Who knows how long it will be before they can get back into the home,” she said.
She also doesn’t know when she will be back home. Although the damage may not be as severe as that at the Verret home, she will be without electricity while crews cut down the tree and repairs are made to the utility pole.
Istre continued to walk the property and was saddened to see so many fallen trees. There were several uprooted and damaged trees on her property and the neighbors to the south of the Verret home sustained damage from an uprooted tree landing across the front corner of their home.
“I hate that the trees are gone. I lost so many in the hurricane,” she said.
She was also overwhelmed by thoughts of the clean up.
“I really don’t have anyone who can help me,” she said shaking her head. “I just don’t know how I’m going to clean all this up.”
