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'The storm came up, poof': Storms cause damage across Kentuckiana

Just like the storm moved from New Albany across the river to Louisville's Shawnee neighborhood, so did the helping hands.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A snapped sugar maple took down power lines and smashed through the ceiling of a home Wednesday in New Albany, Indiana.

Workers from Townsend Tree Service blocked off State Street to take care of the power before crews could come through. 

Elva Lewis watched them work with bated breath. "I get nervous sometimes because you never know how dangerous things can be," she said.

It's not Lewis' first time in a scene like this. Her husband was up in the Cherry picker working a chainsaw. She'd rather watch him work than worry about what could happen. 

"He said if it was us in this need, we would want someone to help, and he never says no," Lewis told WHAS11.

Just like the storm moved from New Albany across the river to Louisville's Shawnee neighborhood, so did the helping hands.

"The storm came up, poof," Waynetta Howard said.

The 88-year-old was safe inside her home but her car wasn't so lucky.

Credit: Tom Lally/WHAS-TV

She spoke to WHAS11 as her family cleaned up broken glass and tree trimmings. "This group came up 30-something miles from up in Indiana," she said.

She is counting her blessings that they came quickly. Just down the road from her home on Northwest Parkway, a tree blocked all traffic. 

"I'm trying to get through," Summer Hampton said from her car as she started to turn around. She was heading over the river to New Albany where outages made buying gas over there difficult. 

"Registers are down, everything," Kristy Cecil said from inside the Marathon Gas Station on State Street. "Lightening hit a few doors down and everything went black."

Since then, Cecil's been turning away customers and waiting on some more excitement.

"I'm bored! There's nothing to do, can't clean in the dark," she said.

What took minutes to come through Kentuckiana left hours of clean-up.

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