Freak storm pounds Amelia’s Ward

– families displaced, losses pile up

Several families at Amelia’s Ward were seeking refuge last evening after being displaced by a freak storm with intense rain, and lightning and thunder that ripped through the Mackenzie, Linden community.

The storm, which lasted approximately two hours, also caused damage estimated in the millions to the houses and household possessions of the many residents, who ended up seeking shelter at neighbours, friends and relatives for the night. It was fortunate that no one was injured, residents said.

It started after 3 pm yesterday, when the sky at Linden went dark except for flashes of lightning. “Is like the gods gone crazy,” said a resident.

Friends, relatives and neighbours of James Hero attempting to construct temporary cover over his Central Amelia’s Ward house last night

“This was like a hurricane tail end that hit us up here,” added a woman later as she stood at the front of the Central Amelia’s Ward property of James Hero, who lost the roof of his house.

Hero was at the business centre of Central Mackenzie, Linden when his daughter called and informed him that the storm had ripped the roof off the house.

“…But not in my wildest imagination did I expect to see what I came and meet, never,” said Hero.

By the time Hero got to his home, the damage was done. The roof and all the beams were ripped off and were scattered in the yard of his neighbour. The roof of a concrete shop belonging to the neighbour was also removed by the storm.

“Everything damaged, from fridge to TV to stove, microwaves, everything gone everything,” sobbed Hero.

By the time Stabroek News arrived at Hero’s home, the storm had ended and there were several persons, many of them were bemused, lining the street at the front of the property surveying the destruction.

Hero was in the backyard trying to retrieve sections of the roof, while some of his friends were inside the standing walls attempting to set up a temporary cover for the night.

The displaced Hyderkhan family of nine

His daughter, Vanessa Hero, told Stabroek News that she was thankful that she was not at the house at the time as she is usually there until late in the afternoon.

“I see the rain coming, so I said I would go home before it start falling and is a good thing I did just that,” she said. “My God it’s a good thing I wasn’t here when this happened ’cause you never know what could have happened to me,” she added, as she held her head.

Members of the Hyderkhan family, of 1040 Cinderella City, Amelia’s Ward, were at home when the storm hit and they were still reliving the trauma afterwards.

Vanessa Hyderkhan was home with her seven children, the youngest being one year old and the eldest 13 years old. The heavy rains, which were accompanied by high winds, had her worried about an electrical cable that was swaying steadily.

“I was looking at the cable praying that it didn’t fall low and behold something worse was brewing,” she said.

They were living in a temporary house of wood and zinc while their permanent house was under construction in the same compound.

Hyderkhan said she was assisting her eldest child with his homework while the others were close by looking at the television and doing other things when the storm hit. “All of a sudden I hear ‘woof’ and this smashing sound,” she said. It was the roof of their home being ripped apart by the high wind. “Just look how far the wind pelt the roof! That alone to tell you how strong it was,” she said.

The roof was thrown in the street several yards behind the family’s property and the incident terrified and traumatized the children. Their mother said they began running from one corner of the house to the other. Although one of the children was hit by an ironing board during the storm, there were no serious injuries.

Jermaine Hyderkhan was at work at the Mackenzie-Wismar bridge when he got word that something was seriously wrong at his home. “She called [his wife Vanessa] and keep saying something about the house but I couldn’t hear her properly,” he recalled, adding that he immediately dropped what he was doing, got on his bicycle and rode through the pouring rain for several miles. “My goodness this is what I see but I thank God everybody was safe,” he said.

The Hyderkhans said that the construction of their new home was delayed with the five-week Linden shutdown.

“Then only last week all my children, everyone of them fell sick and had to be at the hospital. Now this,” said Vanessa. “I think there is the end of the trial now, I certainly can’t take more,” she added.

At the time of this newspaper’s visit, members of the family were packing in order to go to a relative’s home, where they would spend the night.

Meanwhile, a drive around Amelia’s Ward revealed several similar situations. Members of an Amelia’s Ward family, who asked not to be named or photographed, had covered half of their double flat house with tarpaulin, while they were almost done replacing zinc on the other half.

At the time when the storm hit, the head of the household was in Georgetown while her four children, between the ages of nine months and 19 years, were in one bedroom of the house. She said the children panicked and ran to a neighbour’s house, screaming as they were scared. “That one said he begged God not to let him die because he was not ready,” said the woman, indicating her eight-year-old as she communicated with her husband who was overseas.

Along the streets, several persons were seen on their roofs nailing while others had no choice but to abandon their homes at least for the night as was the case of some persons in ‘Habitat Scheme’. Several houses which were under construction were also extensively damaged and the streets were covered with zinc sheets, fallen trees and fences and other particles swept away by the storm.