Many hard-hit neighborhoods are still recovering from hurricane-force winds. NBC 5’s Tahera Rahman was in South Garland to examine what those destructive winds left behind.
Folks across North Texas are trying to clean up after severe thunderstorms pummeled neighborhoods.
Data indicates wind gusts reached 95 miles per hour in some areas, which is close to a Category 2 hurricane.
Wes Hollinshead said he and his wife woke up around 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday after hearing the wind.
“We just knew, just don’t open the doors, don’t get close to the windows. And, we were in shock," he said.
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Hollinshead said it wasn't until his wife looked at her security camera app on her phone that they realized the wind had also split a big tree in their front yard, sending half of it toppling over their driveway.
“Underneath this tree is my truck, and inside my garage is my wife’s car, so we can’t get out," he said.
He said they're relying on family and friendly neighbors to help them run errands, like getting groceries.
Neighbors are also facing cleanup: A rogue trampoline was recently picked up from Hollinshead's side yard, and a patio roof still sits in the road nearby.
“This is the first time we’ve had so much damage," said Hollinshead, who's lived in the neighborhood for 30 years.
The wind also tore through nearby Mesquite, where Teri Roundtree assessed the roof of her client and the client's neighbor.
"Blew this tree down, blew it down on this house and this house, so it kind of split in half, so both houses got the brunt of it," she pointed out.
It's two of many Roundtree, who owns Roundtree Roofing, will look at on Wednesday.
“Chaos. The phone was ringing, started ringing at about 5:45 [a.m.]. People wanting their houses tarped, obviously, with all the debris flying around, trees coming down, they were getting leaks in their house," she said.
She said, luckily, her Mesquite clients could still stay at home; the tree hadn't caused extensive damage inside.
“We’re just thankful no one got hurt here. This, we can fix this, you know, so that’s the good thing," Roundtree said.
But she said it could take a month or more to fix the roof, with everyone from tree removal crews to insurance agents backed up.
Hollinshead said it would also be a slow cleanup for him. He was told his tree couldn't be removed from his driveway for another two to three days.
He hopes more forecasted storms don't lead to more cleanup pile-ups.
“I don’t want to go through this again. At all," he said.
