By Shuntel Glasgow
A storm ripped through two East Coast Demerara communities yesterday morning leaving approximately 15 houses damaged and a GDF rank suffering from injuries.
The scene was described as a movie coming to life after residents said they heard the wind making a gale-like sound and then they saw galvanised sheets, pieces of wood, clothing and other materials flying through the air. Dazzell Housing Scheme and Bare Root were the two communities most affected when the storm began raging at around 11:30 am. It was soon followed by a power outage. Stabroek News visited both communities and was shown concrete walls that were knocked out of alignment and uprooted fences. Toddlers, aged 2 and 3 who were at school at the time were visibly traumatized.
Joann Yarde who resides in a single-storey concrete house with four occupants said, “I see zinc flying, we bed wet, all we house, we carpet, we TV, we music set… everything… we just get plenty losses. My son is so traumatized, he ain’t even want go down…When the thing [storm] start he was standing in front the door, so after the roof started to circle he started to holler, so the only thing I could ah do was collect me son and run to the back. The back wall crack up, the house was shaking.”
She added: “This thing tek less than a minute, if you hear the breeze that this thing come with you would be so scared. We had no rain at first but is after the roof and everything went then the rain come after. Then we fence break down. Melanie [Damishana] Fire Service was the first to come and see if we got any injury or damage or so.”
At Bare Root, Stabroek News spoke with Juliet Pearson who lives in a single-storey concrete house along with seven other occupants. Pearson, a member of the Guyana Police Force Special Constabulary, was stationed at the Ministry of Finance, Main Street, Georgetown when she received a call from her daughter who was on her way to the local shop.
“I come out to go to the shop and I see …everything blowing up in the air. I didn’t know was wah at the time but then I see over there and there the roofs was completely off. You see the wall lean like it about to fall,” Pearson’s daughter said.
Pearson said that she is a single parent of six and still trying to complete her house.
“I feel shaky and stressed out because everything have to do back…I cry lil bit… but how much can I cry” she asked?
Juneann Beckles who lives in a single storey-concrete house with three occupants said, “By time I get up to go peep through the window then is when the whole roof came off, the rain started to pour down, meh son get lash in he back and couple of he teeth break. Everything wet up, me ain’t know if the TV working and so because the rain wet up everything. Till now me can’t catch meh self.”
Kevon Beckles, a Corporal in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) said that he is still feeling severe pain from the injuries sustained from the storm. “My head, shoulder (left and right) and lower back hurting.”
Rawl Lyght of Bare Root who lives in a wooden house with three other occupants said, “I watching this storm from till across in Dazzell, I see things flying from Dazzell coming across. I decide to just come downstairs and come behind hay by the shop then this whole roof come off.”
“Them zinc sheet wah deh pon the house and the shop come off… the back house zinc them fly off. Is only Christmas I paint this house. I lost about two million dollars, I might gah sit down in some chair tonight because I got nowhere to sleep…I feel tramautised,” he said, “like me ain’t even want talk much because I see everything happen… I see it happen. Seeing this storm coming from Dazzell side to here it last like about 25 minute.”
Nicola Headley, a shop owner, stated that, “I got four children and this thing tek off me shop roof… is only three months now I build this shop… it is where I get me money from. I can’t catch meh level, how me go eat? The car screen break up all.”
Meanwhile, the Guyana Police Force said that Sergeant Robin and Detective Corporal Liverpool along with a party of police ranks went to the back of Dazzell Housing Scheme where roofs of several houses between Eighteenth and Twentieth Streets were ripped off by the heavy winds and spoke to residents there.
Sgt Wellington and a party of police ranks visited Bare Root and spoke with the affected residents there.
