Single mother left homeless during tropical storm

Elizabeth Combs was sitting in the living room of her home on Iva Avenue with her 9-year-old daughter, Elisa, at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday when she heard a resounding crash.

"All of a sudden, it sounded like the whole world is caving in," Combs said.

A tree had crashed through her roof, destroying the inside of her daughter's bedroom.

"It's just demolished in there," Combs said.

The tree was blown over by heavy winds that were part of tropical storm Debby. Gaston County was under a hazardous weather outlook Thursday morning, with a flash flood warning and wind advisory in effect. The county was expected to get two to four inches of rain, with wind speeds of around 30-50 mph.

"We have no place to stay. No place to go. It's just me and my daughter here in North Carolina. I can't even go anywhere, because my car also got crushed," said Combs, who is a single mother. "So the fire department told us to wait. We're in the living room. This is the safest room in the house right now."

Combs said she is hoping her car, a 2006 Scion xA, is still drivable.

"Other than that and my 70-inch screen TV, those are the only two assets I have in the world," she said.

She said she has struggled over the past few years, after losing a good job at the start of the pandemic, then later requiring a surgery that caused her to be out of work for months. She currently works at a Waffle House.

"My daughter said, 'Why does God hate us?' when the tree hit the house," Combs said. "We'll just keep moving one day at a time. With God's help, we will persevere."

Combs said that anyone who wants to help can send her funds through Cash App. Her username on the app is #selfcreatedlife.

Tropical storm Debby is expected to bring "heavy to torrential" rain to North Carolina through the end of the week, according to the National Weather Service.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Single mother left homeless during tropical storm Debby