A family of seven is lucky to be alive after a massive tree fell on their home during a heavy rain storm.
- Large tree fell on Tampa home during storm
- Family of seven OK, including the dog
- But children lost things like school clothes, shoes
- Family was renting but don't have renter's insurance
“It sounded like an earthquake,” Linda Dorman said.
Dorman, her husband, and five children were home. The parents decided to keep their kids, all under the age of 12, home from school because of impending bad weather.
But it turns out home wasn’t the safest place to be. Dorman was sitting in her bedroom with two of her children when the tree slammed onto the roof.
The family of seven were not hurt but lost personal items like recently purchased school clothes and shoes. (Photo: Erin Maloney)
“I hovered over my baby girl, my 5 year old. The ceiling fell on me instead of her,” Dorman said.
Princess, the family dog, was scared but also OK. (Photo: Erin Maloney)
After Dorman and her husband had all the children accounted for, they were missing their family dog Princess.
They thought she died under all the rubble. But, Princess finally crawled out from under a couch to the delight of the family’s children.
Dorman said her family is blessed to be alive, but as a mother, she is worried for what’s next.
“Where are we going to live? We rent. My kids go to school. We just bought them new school clothes, new shoes. Those are gone,” Dorman said.
Dorman said she was able to salvage very little.
The Red Cross will help the family with a temporary place to stay. But, she did not have renter's insurance.
The family has set up a Gofundme account to help with expenses. Click here to donate: https://www.gofundme.com/2mmmaec.
This Gofundme.com site is not managed by Bay News 9/News 13. For more information on how the site works and the rules visit http://www.gofundme.com/safety