‘TWISTER’ RAVAGES PLEASANTVILLE

A FAMILY of five, including three children, was left homeless after their home collapsed when a twister (a strong cyclonic wind) ripped through Pleasantville yesterday, blowing off the roofs of approximately 19 houses and leaving broken hearts and over hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage in its wake. Eyewitnesses told Newsday that just after 3 pm yesterday, they saw a “cone shaped wind” circulating through the village, ripping off the roofs and sending galvanise and other debris hurtling through the air. Many of the villagers said they screamed and ran “pell-mell” to safety. No one was seriously injured.

Hardest hit was father of three, Dexter Cooper, 30, who rushed home from work when he heard the news that he no longer had a home. Cooper, a security guard at the Revenue Office in Marabella, said he was relieved his wife Asha, 24, and their three children, aged four, three and one, plus a five-month-old baby, were not at home. Saying that his Christmas would be a bleak one, Cooper added that he was willing to accept help from anyone who would kindly offer assistance. “That (Christmas) gone already. I can’t study that right now,” he said. Cooper said most of his belongings were destroyed, and his appliances and furniture waterlogged. He and his family will be staying with his in-laws until he can rebuild. Bar owners Elsie Roach and Leo Larez also said their Christmas would be anything but merry, since they lost thousands of dollars in stock and food items, after the roof of their businessplace — Valwin’s Recreation Club — was ripped off.

June Foster, 45, who was sitting in the club with another person, sustained minor injuries to her hand and head after part of the roof fell on top of her. “The place got bright and as I looked up I saw the roof go and something fall on me,” Foster stated. Roach said they were supposed to have had a parang lime at the bar last night, so a lot of food and alcohol were purchased. They lost everything. Another person, Franka Greenidge, 42, who lost her roof and front portion of her house said, “I was in the kitchen when the front window crashed and I saw the glass flying towards me, and I ran out of the house.” Up to late yesterday, fire officials of the Mon Repos Fire Service were on the scene trying to bring relief to several families, many of whom were busy putting up tents, and repairing roofs.