KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Strong storms moved through East Tennessee Thursday night, keeping the Knoxville Fire Department busy and leaving several families with severe damage just days before the holidays.
Cleanup has begun after trees crashed through the roofs of two homes overnight. One of those homes on Towanda Trail in West Knoxville, the other on John May Drive in Northwest Knoxville.
Road work expected before Christmas in East TN: When TDOT is pausing lane closures
“The house shook and it woke him (boyfriend) up and he kind of walked through and noticed that there was water on our floor downstairs. So I was like, I bet a tree went through the house. And he went upstairs and was like, yeah, there’s a tree in your living room. You need to come home right now,” explained Kayla Veysey who lives in the home on John May Drive.
Veysey said she rushed home from Alcoa after getting that call at work, learning a tree had fallen through the roof, sending the ceiling crashing into the kitchen.
“When I got here, she (daughter) was definitely very spooked. My boyfriend actually pulled her out of the way of a falling ceiling because they went upstairs and part of the ceiling started falling down on them. And he pulled her out of the way. So she was definitely shaken up when I got here. I cried for a long time just trying to think about what was going to happen and how we were going to get where we needed to be after this, and especially a week before Christmas,” Veysey added…