CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “I never thought I saw what I saw," Abdi Kadir Arab said. "I never thought that all my kids are in that room and a tree is gonna fall where my three kids are."
Arab and his family were terrified when a tree suddenly fell on their home around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.
"We just hear this big crack, big sound in our house and we didn’t know what it was," Arab said. "We had so many thoughts. I thought it was someone breaking into the house."
Stunned at the damage, Arab said the tree went through the roof of the room his three children were sleeping in.
“That branch of the tree inside the room," he said. "The roof is down. There’s a piece of plywood with a nail on it on the 4-year-old.”
As the roof caved in, insulation went flying everywhere. He said he could barely find his son.
“All you could see was the head," Arab said. "I could not even see my son. My wife’s like get the baby please."
Ironically, he's always been concerned about the trees on and off his property. He said he cut some of them, but not the ones he thought were going to fall.
Despite the damage to his home, Arab is thankful that everyone was ok.
“We thank God almighty that no one is hurt," Arab said. "A property and a home is nothing. Your life is worth more than that."
With more rain in the forecast for Wednesday and an increased risk of flooding, Arab wants people to evaluate the trees on their property.
“You know you should look around your house and see what kind of tree is facing where and which tree you think is gonna fall," he said. "Your calculation may not be right, but it’s better to take care of them and remove off your property of you can."