TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Severe flooding isn’t the only thing the recent storms have left in Tucson. This year’s monsoon has also brought destruction.
The monsoon strikes again, this time destroying a carport and rattling the family inside a home near 5th Street and Longfellow Avenue.
Tucson has been under several Severe Thunderstorm Warnings as of late. Though, it’s one thing to hear about the advisories and another to be impacted by them.
RELATED: LIVE UPDATES: Flood watch in effect as rain continues
“It sounded like if we were in the eye of a hurricane. It was so extreme,” said Elva Lovato.
Lovato recalls the night lightning lit up the night sky. She describes it as a storm that brought gusty winds, thunder, and destruction.
“It was just scary. I tried to open the door and I couldn’t even open the door because it was just pushing me away,” she told KGUN9.
Then, when she walked out the next morning, she saw a toppled carport. Caught in a panic, rushing to try to get to work, she called on bystanders for help.
“They picked up the...the two sides and I pulled out my car. Thank God it wasn’t very, very damaged...and as soon as they picked it up I retreated...boom, it just kind of fell all over,” said Lovato.
She says it hasn’t even been a year since she got the carport.
Thankfully, she has insurance, but Lovato says agencies are backed up with many claims.
“They have more than 500 cases right now just pending of damage,” she told KGUN9.
Lovato and her sister, Rosa O'Hara, saw more damage to their backyard.
“The damage this year was extreme. Behind our house of course, the trees have fallen. Damages to the elephant plant cactuses. It was definitely something that I’ve not had the pleasure of before,” added Lovato.
While they are out of a carport, she is thankful they still have a roof over their head.
“You know, material things are just material things. The only thing that we can be glad about is that the house didn’t fall in on us,” she told KGUN9.
