SUFFOLK, Va. — "We had a three minute window. We grabbed our dog, went into our laundry room, and the wind…it was crazy," said Marie Greene, standing in front of a massive tree with her shed and car crumpled underneath its weight.
Greene and her neighbors along Kinds Point Drive spent Friday morning picking up the pieces Tropical Storm Elsa left behind. Many residents experienced trees being uprooted and torn down on their properties from the strong winds.
Greene and her family came out of the home without getting hurt only to find their shed and everything inside crushed by the tree.
“This one is like 85 feet," Greene said as she stared at the branches. She described what was inside the shed, saying, "We have another car, a camper, all of my husband’s garage items are in there.”
Several other trees came crashing down in front yards along the road. One neighbor, Troy Barnes, came back from vacation to find his yard tree split and barely missing his house.
"I was shocked to see that something this large could be destroyed quite this fast," said Barnes.
Robert Klotz could be seen using a chainsaw to take apart the trees in an elderly couple's front yard. He says he just wanted to help the people in the neighborhood.
An Army and Navy veteran, Klotz says he’s used to serving others. Gloves on, he started cleaning up the debris early in the morning and giving some relief to homeowners.
“My friend Jeff called me last night saying some of his trees are down. So I figured I’d swing by because he’s down at the shipyard," said Klotz. “I decided to come over here and take care of this one, too….they’re great people.”
The neighbors who he was helping say they were grateful for his efforts.
The National Weather Service is sending crews down to Suffolk to determine if the cause of this damage is due to straight line winds from the storm system or if it was, in fact, a tornado that touched down.