Houston County residents clean up after storm

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Warner Robins residents experienced heavy rain and winds, which led to several power outages Friday morning.

Viewer Jimmy Trawick sent damage of home in Warner Robins.

Local businesses and residents were out cleaning up the damage: fallen debris, trees snapped in half and front yards covered in leaf litter.

According to the National Weather Service, the winds were nearly 85 miles in Houston County.

Emma Powell took a walk through the neighborhood to find her home untouched by the storms, but her neighbors’ front yards covered in trash and broken trees.

“I haven’t seen anything major until I saw this,” Powell says, “I mean we had some strong winds through here.”

On Green Street, where most on the damage occurred, a 12 foot garage found with 8 foot dents flew across the parking lot and into a sign in front of a local business owner.

The Houston County EMA Director, Jimmy Williams says the damage stretched out to North Watson Boulevard.

Crews responded to nearly 4,000 outages, and 6-10 homes were completely damaged beyond repair.

Back on Green Street, at the Shekinah Glory Praise and Worship Center, Apostle Stephanie Parker, drove by to find minimal damage. She says she is thankful, because it could have been worse.

“A sign was torn down and we had a lot of leaks on the inside, but we cleaned up around this place,” Parker says, “So, it kind of looks pretty good now.”

Not everyone is as fortunate.

Wade Alday’s home on Mcarthur Boulevard in Warner Robins is ruined after a large oak tree crashed into the center of the home around 7:00 a.m.

Alday did not want to speak on camera, but he kept a high spirit saying “it’s not a poor me thing. We’re alive.”

He and his wife and 16 month-old daughter were trapped inside the bedroom of the home.

They were able to escape through the back door.

The family had only been renting that home for less than a year. Alday adds his family is staying with his mother-in-law, and they have no plans to move back to Mcarthur Boulevard.

Resident Shirley Moody says the damage will not hinder her positivity.

“The city is doing a good job. You see utility trucks out everywhere,” the resident of 54 years adds, “So, well have it cleaned-up in no time. We’ll be out running in the roads again.”