NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A tree fell onto an apartment roof at the Admiral Pointe Apartments and underneath the roof was where Yasmine Sessoms and her family lived.
“At first I was like, ‘Oh my god - what hit the house?’” Sessons said. “Something is trying to come into the house!"
That “something” was Tropical Storm Isaias bringing destruction as it made its way across Hampton Roads and Newport News.
“You see other people go through it but never thought it would be me,” Sessoms said.
She said the destruction happened around 5 a.m. and that nobody was in the living room at the time. First, she said water was leaking through into the home.
“We went and put a tub about this big up underneath the leak,” she explained. “Then 10 seconds later we hear, ‘boom!’ And the ceiling came down."
The hole in the ceiling is visible and is larger than the sofa that stood underneath it and mounds of insulation were strewn around the living room, across the floor, and furniture. Pieces of the ceiling with nails protruding also laid strewn with the insulation.
The apartment is condemned and Sessoms said they did not have renters insurance nor does the complex’s insurance cover them for damages. They are trying to figure where they will stay and are working with the apartment complex to see what can be done to help them out.
“My kids could have been in the house playing a game in the living room like they normally do,” Sessoms said. “It could’ve happened just like that."
There was a biblical message hanging from the living room wall that she is currently living by in the aftermath. She said she is also thankful no one was hurt.
“It just makes me appreciate more what I have,” Sessoms said. “It humbles me a lot. But you always do you want to be prepared."In the future, she said, “I probably will not be on the second floor of anybody else’s apartment by trees for a very, very long time."
