Wednesday marks one year since powerful storms left a path of destruction in several Connecticut communities.
“It was a traumatic, horrible day,” said 85-year-old Lucy Fazio, remembering what happened in her Cheshire neighborhood on May 15, 2018.
One of the four confirmed tornadoes did not touch down in Cheshire, but strong winds from a thunderstorm damaged several homes.
“I wasn’t hysterical or crying or anything I was just like in shock because I just did not know what was happening,” Fazio said.
Fazio said after getting a tornado alert on her phone, she made it to her basements moments before a large front lawn tree came crashing down on her home of 40 years.
“It was a tremendous noise like a train going by,” she recalled. “It was just a tremendous noise and the house just vibrated, it just shook and it lasted for a number of seconds, it wasn’t just a quick hit, it just rumbled and rumbled and rumbled.”
Down the road, Emory Meyerjack and his family still haven’t returned to their home since it got hit hard by a falling tree.
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“My parents and I moved into this house back in 1978,” Meyerjack said.
Meyerjack told NBC Connecticut his insurance company has been helpful as he continues making repairs.
“Despite the setbacks we’ve had with other contractors, they’ve been very understanding in extending our rental property until we’re ready to move back in,” he said.
Meyerjack said he is hoping to finish the work soon.
“It’s been a year we’d like to get back into the house,” he said. “I’d like to be able to ride my bike to school with the kids before the end of the school year, that’s our goal.”
Fazio said she came home after five months of living in a condo.
“I was nervous I was afraid to be back in the neighborhood where all the trees,” she said, “but that finally passed.”
One year later, Fazio said she still feels lucky to be alive and she thanks her two daughters for helping her get through a difficult year.
After the repairs, her home also looks and feels like it did before the severe storm.
“Put in all new floors, had the house painted of course, new roof and now I’m working on landscaping to get the lawn back to the way it was,” Fazio said.
