Downed trees cause damage in Allentown

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - October 30, 2011

Mike Surber, a Bethlehem police officer, just completed his 3:00 p.m.- 11:00 p.m. shift during Saturday's storm when he returned home to find several downed trees in his yard.

The trees snapped under the weight of the snow, dumping large branches on top of his truck.

"The truck is buried. I need the truck to haul away the tree limbs. I need access to driveway to get the cars in and out and to remove the truck," said Surber.

There were so many downed trees in the area that the township had to bring in front-end loaders to move them aside and make the roads passable.

"It's a very sad morning, many neighbors lost trees that they loved," said resident Ann Iacono.

"I was in the house watching television and you could hear a crash every once and a while," said Walter Amante.

Especially hard hit by the damage was Yasser Yacoub. Not a single one of the trees in his yard survived undamaged.

"I didn't come home until after 6:00 p.m. There were no lights and every tree in my yard was broken," said Yacoub.

Several homes in the area lost power, and a number of traffic lights were also knocked out during the storm.

Electric crews are working around the clock to restore power.

It will take some time to get power restored and to fully clean up the storm damage.