VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Ophelia brought heavy rain and strong winds to Virginia Beach Friday night.
The powerful wind gusts knocked a large tree limb onto one Virginia Beach family’s home.
"I heard a crash and told my son to come downstairs. He has an upstairs bedroom... Everybody gathered around the back door and saw a huge limb that had fallen,” Bryan Graham said.
Graham gave 13News Now a look at his home's damage Saturday.
He said his family is safe.
The tree limb narrowly missed the chimney and didn’t damage the deck. But, it still left a decent-sized hole in this family’s roof.
“It was definitely an experience,” Graham said.
Graham said luckily his neighbor, Marc Reitzel, is a contractor. Reitzel jumped in to help his friend, removing the tree limb that night.
Reitzel and Graham said the tree limb weighed roughly 400 pounds.
“We actually were able to get the limb off and get the roof covered before it started leaking in the house,” Reitzel said.
Reitzel said after 20 years of contracting, he’s seen his fair share of storm damage.
He advised homeowners to stay proactive. He said if you notice any rotting on trees on your property, call a professional.
“Trees falling over or being blown over – that’s a really big storm and that just isn’t normal. But, what is normal, is that somebody has some disease in their tree or something dead up high that happens to break off and fall,” he said.
Reitzel said you can also use extra caution during storms by sleeping on the opposite side of your home away from large trees.