Columbia residents cleanup storm damage after Thursday’s severe weather
COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Thursday evening’s storms felt differently depending on where in the Midlands you live.
Some areas of Columbia were impacted more than others, one street in particular.
“In 2015, we had a flood in this neighborhood which was pretty significant. We lost quite a few houses on the block,” remembers Columbia resident Tarry McGovern. “Gill’s Creek, on the end of Shady Lane, was breached. We were actually stuck here and evacuated by the National Guard. We’ve had a couple significant weather events in this neighborhood.”
Another one hit Shady Lane while McGovern was at the gym Thursday evening. His wife let him know what had happened.
“She texted me while I was up there and said I needed to get home. We had a storm cell come through and a tree fell on the house,” McGovern said. “She was actually 10 to 12 feet away from where the tree landed. Thank goodness she’s alright. That’s all that matters. We can replace everything else.”
However there is quite a bit to replace.
“The structural damage. It destroyed a big part of the roof, the entire kitchen and our dining room. Unfortunately, there were a lot of keepsakes in it,” McGovern said. “We’re not sure at this point what we can salvage. We’re going to see what happens after everything is removed and if we can get back inside and move a couple of things.”
The cleanup from Thursday night’s storm continued into Friday. It appears it might not be done anytime soon.
“If I had to guess, 6 months? Maybe longer,” McGovern speculated.
Other houses on the street also suffered some degree of storm damage.
“Unfortunately, they’ve cut the power off. Over in the back part of the yard, we have our power line. We have no power right now,” McGovern said. “We’ll have to have our electrician come in, look at everything, inspect and see if we can turn on individual circuits in the house. We may be able to get part of the house powered up. I don’t think we’re going to be here for a little while.”
