CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Storms rolling through Charlotte Monday morning sent a tree toppling onto a duplex while one man slept inside.
"He said he heard a loud noise and he thought he was dreaming and said when he woke up part of the ceiling had come down and hit him in the face and so he jumped up and ran out of the house," said David Jenkins, owner of the duplex.
Jenkins says the tree fell on his duplex located on Columbus Circle in Charlotte around 8 a.m. this morning, opening a huge hole in the ceiling.
The tenant ran from the home, scaring Jenkins' dogs, who fled too. Jenkins says he found them a short time later. The man suffered a minor scrape on his face but otherwise is doing okay.
Fire crews who arrived on scene said the duplex is now uninhabitable. Damage to the room allowed the Monday morning rain to fall through the open roof into the home. Jenkins says he plans on working with his tenant to find him a new place to live.
In the meantime, Jenkins says he is working with his insurance company to get the tree cut down and have a tarp placed over the roof to prevent further damage.
As an example of how saturated the ground is behind the home, a DUKE Energy truck who arrived to cut power to the home sank into the ground, needing to be towed out. The truck's rear tires were more than half way into the ground.
More rain is in the forecast for Monday afternoon.