Torrential rain, lightning and powerful winds tore through several Linden communities on Friday afternoon, and toppled trees, flooded streets and left several residents without a roof over their heads.
Many were left shocked at the occurrence after the streets began to flood since it was an unusual scenario, the Sunday Stabroek was told. The storm started just after 3pm on Friday and lasted for approximately half an hour. Residents recounted that they experienced heavy winds, which was followed by rain, lightning and thunder. No fatalities or serious injuries were reported but damage to homes was extensive.
Region Ten Chairman Renis Morian yesterday appealed for aid for 100 severely affected families.
“The damage done is severe and I figure that [the cost] will be in the vicinity of millions [of dollars]. We are seeking assistance to help some 100 families who would have been severely affected by the storm. Therefore, as the Regional Chairman, I am humbly appealing to the general public to come forward and lend whatever assistance that they can give to assist those severely affected at this time,” Morian said in a statement issued by the Regional Democratic Council (RDC).
In the aftermath of the storm, affected residents were left counting their losses with many having suffered damage to the roofs of their homes. Some homes and streets in the Region Ten town were flooded but after the storm ebbed, the water began to recede. The streets were said to be flooded with over two feet of water.
As the weather rapidly changed from a sunny afternoon to a “hurricane-like” one, persons took out their phones and began recording.
The Sunday Stabroek understands that persons, whose homes sustained damage to their roofs, had to create makeshift roofs by using tarpaulins. Some persons said that during the storm, they observed the galvanised zinc and supporting structure from their roofs floating in the air and subsequently landing either in a neighbour’s yard or some distance away from their home.
According to the RDC statement, a number of residents from Moblissa, Blue Berry Hill, McKenzie, Silvertown, and other areas were affected by the storm which ripped through several persons’ roofs and walls. Morian noted that a team is currently assessing the extent of the damage and estimated that it will be in the vicinity of millions.
Emergency
“This was a big storm and it has left many residents with…damaged homes. [We] are therefore seeking assistance as the RDC so that we can render needed assistance and help to several families,” he was quoted as saying. According to the statement, an emergency council meeting is being organised for tomorrow so that a concentrated and properly coordinated approach can be taken in addressing the matter.
The Civil Defence Commission also visited the town and was making preparations to provide assistance to affected families.
Silvertown resident Donna Alexander, whose home was affected by the storm, yesterday told Stabroek News that she was relaxing with her grandchild when the storm hit.
“I heard this ripping noise and my son call me to say the roof ripping off. By time I could have checked, the roof [was] in our neighbour backyard,” she recounted.
The woman said that the ceiling was also damaged.
“Only recently we [renovated] the roof and put in new ceiling. So for this to happen, it is hard because you expected [it] to last. We tried to see if any zinc can be salvaged but they all look like if somebody hit them with something. To put a figure to the damage, it would be over a million dollars,” Alexander said. She added that after the roof was ripped off her house, all her appliances and furniture were soaked.
Yesterday morning, members of Alexander’s church showed up and assisted her with placing the items outside in her yard to dry. Some also helped to clean up.
“After the storm finished, it was a wet mess. All of the carpets and chairs, stove, fridge, were soaked. Downstairs where my son operates [a] CD and DVD business, it was flooded and you just saw those things floating out,” she recounted.
Another affected family at Wismar was at church when a neighbour called, informing them that the roof of their home had blown away.
“We had just reach to church when the neighbour called. It was very bad when we got home. Half of our house roof was gone [and] the front rooms and the living areas were soaked. The roof was still on over the back rooms but the rains flashed in and parts of the beds were wet,” Niekisa Walcott Antigua told the Sunday Stabroek.
Like Alexander’s, the bottom flat of Antigua’s home was also flooded. Last night, she said, they tied a tarpaulin across the opening in the roof for some security. She said that they have started to reconstruct their roof.
Hurricane-like
Jennifer Adams of McKenzie related that the storm was very similar to a hurricane. “When it started, I said we are getting a hurricane. I lived in Barbados and experienced hurricanes so this was very much like it. The winds were really heavy and the water in the street was rising. I have never seen anything like it here in Linden,” she explained.
Adams said she was thankful that no one was hurt in the storm and just a few zinc sheets from her home were ripped away.
Pensioner Edith Allen of Silvertown recalled that she was home alone when the storm began. She said that she was very unsure of what she could have done at the time. She remained seated in the house and prayed.
“I live in the housing scheme and a few of my zinc [sheets] raised up but I couldn’t have done anything. I just sat in the house and prayed. When I heard the heavy breeze and thunder I said, ‘What is this? Oh life…’ It was a big uproar and it was terrible. Every time you think it finished, it start up again,” the 78-year-old woman related.
Meantime, public buildings, such as the McKenzie High School and the waiting area of the Linden Hospital Complex, also suffered some damage.
An employee of the hospital told Stabroek News that a few zinc sheets from the waiting area were ripped off, and the hospital’s administration was working to replace them.
In some areas, trees were uprooted and fell across roads and into the yards of homeowners.
