Repair companies now in high gear

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) - The 150-year-old pecan tree in Conni Johnson's front yard is now leaning against her roof. The top of the tree snapped and slammed into the top of her house.  

"I was in bed, and I could feel the whole house move," said Johnson.  

She is one of thousands of Austin homeowners who woke up to some serious damage. Tree trimmers spent hours in Johnson's front yard Thursday afternoon. Tree and glass repair companies responded to thousands of calls.  

"This is obviously the biggest day for a tree company in history- in the history of Austin," said Sid Mourning, owner of the Good Morning Tree Company. "We've seen some people trapped in their homes, we've seen hundreds of cars destroyed."  

Mourning says he's also heard reports of price gouging and opportunists trying to take advantage of those who lost so much in such a short time.  

"There's a lot of people coming in from out of town that are not reputable and don't know what they're doing. But they smell money in Austin so they're coming here", said Mourning.  

Glass companies are trying to prioritize the thousands of calls for help they're getting from people whose windows were blown out by wind and hail.  

"We're trying to help out the elderly, a lot of folks that have small children and stuff," said Willie Neel, who is the manager of the Binswanger Glass Company.  

Austin police shut down the intersection of 15th and Lavaca downtown Thursday evening to keep people safe from falling glass. More than 50 windows in The Clements Building were damaged by hail and officials are worried someone could be injured by falling glass. Crews are working quickly to board up those windows.