A HUGE tree smashed into a block of flats in Derby last night after gusts of up to 80mph blew Derbyshire into chaos.
Residents had to be evacuated from the Derby Homes flats in Parker Street, in the Five Lamps area of the city.
Last night the four people were anxiously waiting to find out if there had been damage to their roof and whether they would need to be moved into temporary accommodation.
The smash came as high winds led to road closures in the county and flight cancellations at East Midlands Airport.
One of those who was evacuated from the Parker Street flats was Barbara Lait, who said the tree was outside her bedroom window.
She said: "I heard a noise, I thought it was a car crash.
"It was very, very loud, like a train coming.
"After that I heard a crash. I was in the kitchen and obviously couldn't see anything on the road so I looked out the back and I saw the tree.
"I started shaking and called the police."
Adam Bleakman, from Nottingham Road fire station, was on the scene at Parker Street after the tree fell at 5.30pm. He said nobody had been injured.
He added: "After initial inspections it looks like there's not much damage to the building.
"In the daylight and once the tree has been removed, we will be able to see what damage it has done to the roof."
Miss Lait said she was able to leave by the back door of the two-storey block of flats.
She said: "We're all just waiting now to see if anything has happened with the roof."
See a video of the tree below:
Yesterday, Derbyshire's weather initially saw gusts of 60mph but these grew stronger throughout the night, getting up to 80mph in some parts of the county.
Flights into the area were also affected. An East Midlands Airport spokeswoman said the high winds caused diversions and cancellations yesterday.
The timetable was operating normally by the evening.
She said the flights diverted from the airport were Ryanair flights from Wroclaw, Poland, and Cork, Ireland, which were sent to Leeds/Bradford, and another from Alicante, Spain, which landed in Birmingham.
Last night, flood alerts were in place from the Environment Agency on the River Derwent from Rowsley to Shardlow, the River Wye from Burbage to Rowsley, River Trent from Newton Solney to Castle Donington, and on low-lying land and roads between Kings Bromley and Clay Mills.
The alerts mean flooding is possible and people in affected areas should be prepared.
The weather today still looks set to be very windy, with gusts of up to 60mph being felt in some places.
Charlie Powell, a forecaster at the Met Office, said: "Gusts will get up to gale force again but it will be a much drier day, especially in the morning.
"There is a spell of rain which will come through and will turn persistent in the mid-afternoon."
Derbyshire police had to deal with a number of weather-related problems on the roads.
A spokesperson said it had received an influx of weather-related calls including trees down across the county.
Our control room is handling numerous calls of dangerous structures & fallen trees. Please only call control in a 999 emergency
— Derbyshire FRS (@DerbyshireFRS) February 12, 2014Please consider your journey this evening - we are receiving numerous calls of fallen trees on the A515 Pomeroy area of Derbyshire.
— Derbyshire FRS (@DerbyshireFRS) February 12, 2014