High winds topple houses at Mahaica

Jun 16, 2011 News

A mother and her four children are now contemplating their move for the near future after an early morning squall in Mahaica completely destroyed their home.
Miraculously, the woman, Sonia Calistro, and her children whose ages range from six years to eight months, survived the ordeal without serious injuries.
The woman, who resides at Manager’s Line, Cane Grove, Mahaica, said that she and her four children, all girls, were in the house when it collapsed around 07:00 hours.
Calistro said that the winds were blowing heavy and it was raining. Only minutes prior to the house collapsing she had called her children upstairs. The woman added that she was also preparing a meal but for some strange reason she turned off the stove mere seconds before the house collapsed.
“After the house start shaking I run and hold them children, and we stay on the floor.

Sonia Calistro and her four children in what is left of their home.

A glass window fall on my head and it knock me li’l daughter but luckily it ain’t cause no serious injury.”
The woman said that she was in shock when the house came crashing to the ground. All she could think of was getting out of the house alive.
“This thing happen so sudden I couldn’t do anything. I just get up and walk towards the kitchen with them children and then I see neighbours come running over.”
Calistro said that she was so shocked and frustrated that she picked up the children with whatever little clothes they had on and went to a neighbour’s house.
“All the baby porridge stuff throw away; all the clothes in the house wet up, the ration throw away, the beds break down; all the stove break up.”
The traumatised woman said that her family only moved into the house some months ago but she spends most of her time there since her husband has gone into the interior to seek a job.
“Me husband does work in the bush and I call he but like he ain’t believe the house fall down and he say that things hard in the bush so he can’t do anything now.”
When this publication visited the area there were still high winds blowing, and the woman was at a relative’s home seeking shelter.
None of the children were properly clothed. The woman related that she did not get to grab anything for the children.
It was some hours later that the woman went back into the house to see what she could salvage for the children.
She was able to remove some containers with what appeared to be baby food for the youngest child.
A resident who spoke with this publication said that the family who lost their house is fortunate as the incident could have been deadly.
“I went sitting down
under me house and I look over and I see them trees blowing hard. If you see wha it de doing to them trees and three ah dem children went playing under the house.”
The woman said that it was only after the rain began falling that the children went upstairs. “Them children go upstairs minutes before da house fall down. If them children still went downstairs I ain’t know wha woulda happen”.
There are also reports of other houses in the area losing their roofs and of a lamp post falling but there were no reported injuries.
Also over in Supply, Mahaica, another house collapsed. Again no one was injured. The homeowner, Roopnarine, said that the house fell around 06:00 hours.
“Me went under de house and me just left fuh go at de back ah de yard and when me turn around fuh come meh feel dis hard breeze. This thing feel like a hurricane and next thing me see is meh house on the ground.”
The man said that he lived in the house alone since his wife and children left the home some two weeks ago.
Other communities have reported similar incidents of high winds but no serious injuries.