Carmel neighborhood braces for second big storm to bring damage

Ahead of the first storm in February, some Carmel residents are still shaken after a mid-January storm brought major damage to their neighborhood.

It was wind more than rain that brought the damage in, and the return of high wind is exactly what those residents are fearing.

The last storm that brought damage, left the neighborhood near Carpenter Street and 5th Avenue without power for almost a day.

“[We had the] water main break, the power going out, the cars being blocked in. The power lines flying all over the place,” Kelley Lefmann told us on January 17th, back when the first storm hit.

Driving through the neighborhood Friday, it looked almost as if that storm never happened. But it’s still fresh in the minds of many of the neighborhood’s residents.

“We’re very concerned about the high winds tonight,” said Neil Sheffield.

Sheffield has lived in his Carmel home for close to 23 years.

“I will tell you that last one that came through is as bad as we’ve ever seen,” he said.

On top of the damage done to his fence and front yard. A tree did major damage to his roof that had just been redone months ago.

“It didn’t go through into the house, it was just glancing below on the top of the house,” Sheffield said, “We have a tree that then fell into the car, the car is being repaired and will be ready next week.”

Despite the damage the last storm brought, and the threat of what Friday and Saturday’s could bring, Sheffield says one of the bright spots is how the storm brought together his community.

“We met a lot of people we didn’t know, Sheffield said, “People from other neighborhoods came over to help me take a look and make sure we were ok.”