Tree falls on home, wet weather blamed

MILAN, Tenn. — Heavy rains, saturated ground, and high winds may be to blame after a tree fell Monday night, crushing a home in Milan. Luckily those inside were able to make it out alive.

Neighbors said the more than 100-year-old tree had been dead for years and they have been trying every avenue to get it cut down. They said they knew it was only a matter of time before it gave way.

“The owners nephew was at home at the time and his bedroom was completely destroyed,” Alderman Tammy Wade said. “So had he been in there he would have been badly hurt.”

Witnesses said the man escaped with only minor cuts and bruises after a neighbor came to the rescue.

“I was just scared, that’s all I know, I was scared,” neighbor Linda Sturdivant said. “I wanted to make sure he was ok and the gas didn’t blow up or anything.”

Residents said the massive tree has been a danger for years but they did not think it would become a reality this quickly.

“I knew it was going to fall, I just didn’t know which way it was going to fall,” Sturdivant said. “But everyone around here knew one day it was going to fall.”

With all of the recent rain and high winds, residents said they are concerned more tree’s may start falling.

“We have a lot of trees in this community that need to be cut,” Wade said. “We also have a lot of elderly people that live in this area.”

Before more damage like this happens, city leaders said they are hoping to make some changes.

“This will spark us as a community to reach out to each other and work toward getting some things cleaned up in this ward,” Wade said. Cutting trees and just the necessities to keep it safe.”

Residents said they will be out all day Tuesday trying to help the family clean up the fallen tree and also look for other trees that may be a problem and have them taken down.

Officials said they are unsure if the family will be able to move back into the home but in the meantime, the Red Cross is assisting.