Ann Arbor homeowners share story of devastating storm damage one year later
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Phyllis Robb and her husband, Bill, will never forget the moment a large tree limb crashed through their roof on Aug. 24, 2023.
They were in their bedroom about to tune in to the 11 p.m. news when the unimaginable happened.
"A wind gust came up, the house shook, all hell broke loose," said Robb. "Lights went out, we lost power, we looked at each other and came running out here to find a tree had fallen through the cathedral ceiling of this living room."
After the limb was removed, a large hole remained in their living room ceiling for months.
As temperatures began to drop in October with no repairs on the schedule, Robb said she reached a breaking point.
"It's October," she said. "This happened in August. When is this hole getting covered up?"
After State Farm told her it would be weeks before an engineer could come to survey the damage, Robb remembered CBS News Detroit had been to her house to get footage of the initial damage.
"8:30 the next morning, I found out that our situation had been escalated," she said. "I got a call from a lovely lady from my insurance company, State Farm, who assured me someone would be here that morning at 9:30. And by 5:30 that afternoon, I had a check for $70,000.
"So, in 25 hours from the time you aired our story, they were able to get things rolling for us."
It would take another nine months to complete all the work needed for repairs.
Robb said she is thankful to finally have her home back.
"It is glorious," she said. "It is a blessing. Every time I walk in this room and see those windows. Every time I sit down in this room, I am grateful and relieved. And again, so grateful to the contractor, to CBS, to the city of Ann Arbor. They were wonderful. They just held our hand."