A falling Plum tree has severely damaged a home at 299 ‘C’ Bamboo Drive, Meadow Brook Gardens, leaving a family in dire straits.
The huge tree fell on the house at about 9.30 am on Friday and up to yesterday afternoon parts of it were still posing a threat to anyone in the vicinity. The roof of the house, which is home to 14 people, was cracked and under repair when this newspaper visited.
Occupant Sharon Grant, 47, in an interview with this newspaper, said she was still in shock because everything happened so quickly. Grant said she was in the kitchen when she heard a loud cracking sound. “I just picked up my grandchild and ran out,” she said.
Her daughter, who has a five-month-old baby, said she was in her room when she heard her brother yelling, “De plum tree coming down, de plum tree coming down”. All she could have done was run out of the house because everything happened so fast.
She recalled seeing the fridge and a cupboard falling and she collapsed in the veranda, but still managed to escape unharmed. “I didn’t care about anything else but my son and my little niece,” she added.
Though shaken, no one was seriously injured. However, one of Grant’s sons had a slight swelling to his forehead.
She indicated that public-spirited citizens assisted her family with removing the remains of the tree.
A family friend who gave his name as Lester Lyken said City Council and the fire service arrives some time after. He said the fire service assisted them with cutting parts of the tree with a chainsaw.
Lyken said the persons sent by the city council just looked around and took notes. He said the city council should have assisted the family more with removing the tree.
Grant indicated that her family is currently occupying a section of the house which was not damaged. She said they were trying to cope, though still in shock.
Yesterday, Grant’s husband Paul Grant, who owns the house and her sons were working on removing large parts of the tree from their damaged house.
She estimated that the tree would be completely removed within a couple days.
She said the City Council has promised to return tomorrow to render assistance.
Grant said her family was focusing on rebuilding, but would need help.
She said her kitchen was out of order since all of her kitchen equipment was damaged. “My fridge, washing machine, gas stove, beds are all damaged,” she said.
Inside the house, there was shattered glass from broken window panes. Large tree branches protruded the roof of the home and there was a heap of broken dining utensils on the floor.
When asked what might have been the reason for the tree collapsing so unexpectedly, Grant’s daughter said it was very old.
She said she had been living there for over 20 years and had been there long before.
She said too that the soil around the tree had eroded from constantly being shifted whenever the nearby trench was cleaned.
Meanwhile, the roof and the veranda of a house on the northern side of the Grants’
