Harvey woman faces long road ahead after tree falls on home

HARVEY, La. (WGNO) — It was a rainy morning as 88-year-old Joyce Robillard, and her son, Marvin, left the house around 6 a.m. to run some errands.

When they returned home, they found that the large tree in their backyard had split in half and crashed into their house.

“When I looked up at the roof and I didn’t see a tree, I said ‘Oh my god, the tree has fallen.’ I didn’t know what to expect to see when I came in,” Robillard said.

The tree caused severe internal damages to the home as well, destroying decorations and furniture.

Also, due to the holes in the roof, rainwater was able to get into the house, causing water damage.

“Water was running everywhere in the kitchen. My neighbor came in next door, and he tried to put the tarp up, but he couldn’t get behind there because there is so much stuff that had fallen down,” Robillard said.

While the damage is severe, Robillard says she’s thankful her glass backdoor didn’t shatter.

She says if that had happened, the damage could have been far worse.

“Oh, I’m very happy. I wouldn’t have come in. I would’ve been too afraid to come in,” Robillard said.

Robillard says now she’ll be forced to move out for the time being until the damage is repaired.

Thankfully, she already has a team helping with the recovery.

“We want to try to cut the tree get the weight off the house. That’s the most important thing, get this weight off and then I’ll get with some of the members to see if we can access with brother Troy to secure this wall. This is the most important thing to get the weight off the house right now,” Westbank Combined Male Chorus President Timothy Kennedy said.

A GoFundMe account has been set up in Robillard’s honor.

Latest Posts