DOVER, Del. - Hurricane Sandy has left its destructive path up and down the East Coast, including in Delaware's capital city of Dover.
A tree fell on a power line and came close to landing on Donyale Hall's home.
"It's not by any stretch of the imagination a small limb," Hall said.
The tree nearly covered her entire backyard, and damaged her white wooden fence.
Hall feared the worst from Hurricane Sandy.
"As the evening continued, more limbs fell. When the wind started picking up, we were watching out the window and you could hear it just crack," said Hall.
City of Dover emergency crews said strong winds caused the tree to fall. The tree also snapped a utility pole in half. No one was injured.
"We're just at point now of setting a new pole. We've had no loss of power," said Steve Enns, the city's superintendent of operations.
There was no loss of power, but a loss of something much more valuable to Hall.
"With the wind damage associated with my (homeowner's) policy, I had to pretty much eat the cost," Hall said.
Expenses totaled about $5,000 but her deductible for her homeowner's insurance is $6,000. That is not the only expense Hall is dealing with after Hurricane Sandy.
She will have to pay to repair shingles, the roof and debris removal from her yard.
"I don't know what the damage is this go-around. My fingers are crossed that they declare this a disaster area," said Hall.
Hall also said one of her 10 children was in an upstairs bedroom when the it nearly collapsed during the storm.
Now, a blue tarp covers the hole on the right side of her roof. The room is uninhabitable at this time.
Hall said she's thankful because the situation could have been worse. As for her children, she said they are taking it better than expected.
"Kids are resilient. It touches their life, but it just doesn't touch it to a degree as it touches ours. We're just prayerful that it didn't break completely," she said.
A tree fell on a power line and came close to landing on the home of Donyale Hall's, shown at right. (Photo: WBOC)
