Four children, including a four-month-old baby, were lucky to escape unhurt when their house collapsed at Belladrum, West Coast Berbice during heavy winds on Thursday.
Despite hearing the screams of the terrified children, neighbours were initially unable to go to their rescue because utility wires had burst and fallen on the road when disaster struck, around 11 am.
One man decided to brave it and used a piece of wood to push the wires away. He brought the children— Joel, 13, Kenton, 11, Marissa, 4 and five-month-old Miranda—out to safety individually.
The man said he called the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) to remove the wires that had fallen and was told that “wires burst all over and the workers were out fixing them.” He later used two long poles to lift the wires and keep them off the ground.
Their father, Gershwyn Gordon, 38, a prison officer, was away at work in New Amsterdam, while their mother, Fayeann, had left about half hour before to take her two-year-old son Kieron to the clinic.
Gordon said a neighbour called and informed him about the disaster and he immediately dialled his home number to check on his children. They were crying and told him “daddy the house fall down….”
His wife also received a message about the mishap and she left the child at the clinic and hurried home. She became worried about the children, especially the baby and was shaking when she got to the scene.
The house, which “fell forward,” was badly damaged and repairs are expected to be costly. The front wall has been dislodged and windows have been broken. Meanwhile, the devastated Gordon recalled that his house was destroyed by fire in 2008. Two years later, he was able to rebuild but this time, he was worried about where he would get the money.
Items including a bed as well as dishes (most of which they got as wedding presents in April), a bicycle, and garden tools were destroyed. The family also lost four chickens and a dog during the catastrophe.
Heavy winds on Thursday also sent the roofs flying off two homes at Britannia, West Coast Berbice.
