SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — One Savannah couple survived a brush with death during Hurricane Helene when a tree barreled straight into their home.
“We had been walking around, and we were in the other room when it fell,” the homeowner, Gisela Cerra, said. “So, my husband actually jumped on top of me, which was beautiful…But we’re safe. We really are.”
There was nothing left but a stump of the 90-foot tree, and the home is now split in two.
“I don’t think anybody was prepared,” Cerra said. “How can you be prepared for something so devastating?”
She was at home with her husband and their cats on Thursday night when she heard the wind start to pick up.
“It was crazy sounds, I mean it sounded like a train,” she said.
The tree fell directly on their bedroom.
“It fell, and it was still reeling outside,” Cerra said. “So, we were still dealing with that in the dark. We knew a tree had fallen. I was just shaking uncontrollably. I couldn’t stop. It was scary.”
Cerra’s husband is an artist, and she describes herself as creative.
Many pieces of art, representing years of work, were demolished in seconds.
“This was my bedroom,” the homeowner told News 3 while touring the property. “This is my bed. It got pushed when they moved the tree, and some of my husband’s artwork. He works with clothes pins, makes sculptures.”
Above all, though, she said she’s thankful for all those who have rallied around her and her husband.
“Our community,” Cerra said. “The church across the street, our neighbors. Everybody has been, our friends on social media and so forth. It’s been really great. It’s been very heartwarming.”
Overall, she said they’re glad to have survived the event.
“We’re good, we’re happy, we’re alive. We’re very sad for others because a lot of people just didn’t make it,” she said.