‘It was unreal’: UNCW professor narrowly missed by falling tree

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — UNCW students will not resume classes for another week, but faculty was able to return Monday. One professor is sharing the story of how he narrowly survived Hurricane Florence.

“When the tree came through, I had actually gotten up and gone to the bathroom. And it was still a few feet from my head,” said Communication Studies Professor Chadwick Roberts.

Roberts decided not to evacuate his Wilmington home during Hurricane Florence.

He wanted to stop a small leak from destroying his whole house. A tree destroyed it instead.

“It’s sort of so extreme that it was unreal. So it takes a minute to realize what happened. And then when you realized what happened, you kind of have tunnel vision of like, I have to get out of here,” said Roberts.

Roberts says he and his dogs got in the car, only to find the road blocked by fallen trees.

He says a neighbor was able to direct him to an open route over the phone.

Once he was out of danger, he broke down.

“Everything kind of crashed down at that moment where I felt safe, and I had gotten myself to a safe place, and I was able to kind of then just deal with the emotions of what happened,” said Roberts.

Roberts says he’s still dealing with not only those emotions, but also his insurance company. He reached out to a public adjuster for help.

“He informed me that I was under-insured, so I don’t have any money for temporary housing at the moment. I’ve contacted FEMA, and it’s just a matter of waiting,” he said.

Roberts says despite the difficult road ahead, he knows he and his dogs are lucky to be alive.

Roberts says he’s thankful for all the help he’s received from friends and his colleagues at UNCW.

He’s now back on the job, and is currently staying with friends.