Storms leave Grand Rapids apartment with gaping hole in ceiling

The line of severe storms and high winds didn’t spare Grand Rapids. A tree fell on a Creston duplex, piercing a gaping hole into the upstairs apartment.

“There is a hole punched right through the middle of our living room,” said Alex Burbo.

He and his brother were sleeping just before disaster struck. Alex says, “I woke up about 30 seconds before it hit the house; it was about 6:30 in the morning. I just got out of bed and heard the wind and saw all the trees moving.”

One of those trees snapped and landed on the roof of his apartment, sending a branch all the way through the roof.

“My brother was in the front room and we're both converging on this room. Luckily neither of us made it into the room when it came through,“ said Alex.

His brother’s bedroom was also damaged. The ceiling was sagging, plaster lay on the bed below, and the walls were cracked.

“This back wall looks like it's fallen off the back of the house,” said Alex. He was not alone in dealing with the aftermath of the storm.

A house on Quimby Street also had a tree on its roof. In the backyard, wires held up a fallen tree.

“A lot of the trees crashed into the wiring, so it took out a lot of power in the neighborhood. So, I had to move some of my food to my grandma's house so I can store it,” said Deshaun Nixon.

Many residents in the Creston area were left with no power. Crews were out working on restoration.

For Alex, he is just glad no one got hurt when the tree fell on his house. “We were very lucky that it wasn't worse," he says. "This house is ... it doesn't look like it now, but it was built well. That was a big tree, a lot of weight; it could have smashed both of us.”

Alex and his brother are waiting to hear back from their insurance company. Meantime, they are planning to stay with family in the area.

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