Family loses roof to Elsa

A Bridge Road, St Michael family is now counting the losses after the strong winds from Hurricane Elsa extensively damaged the roof of the house where they lived.

Shelley Beharry told Barbados TODAY that just after 8 this morning she saw signs that the winds were lifting the roof off the wooden house, owned by her family.

Beharry said it was only after a lull that she ventured outside and saw that the entire front section of the roof was gone.

“When I opened the door and I look out, and I look out to this, I didn’t know my roof was like this to be honest. All my ceiling in the bedroom break in and everything,” Beharry said.

Beharry, who said she was not surprised about the damages to the roof, described the wind activity as “severe”.

“I woke up to these heavy flapping, up, down, up, down and I told my mom that it seems like our roof is going to come off today. And she said, ‘don’t say so because I wouldn’t like it to come off’.  I told her as it is flapping come out the bed before it falls on us. So she tried to get up and I told her to get dressed and everyone changed out of their clothes,” she said.

Beharry has since made contact with the office of her Member of Parliament Marsha Caddle to report the damages. In the meantime, she and her mother must now look for temporary shelter because it is not safe for them to remain at home.

She said she sent her young daughter to her father’s home after the house was damaged. But Beharry said her mother, who suffers from arthritis, is adamant that she does not want to go to a shelter because she does not believe there would be provisions to accommodate her with the existing health condition.

“She doesn’t want to leave, especially to go to a shelter and she is saying there is no bed to lay down and she cannot go on the ground because she has bad arthritis. So it would have to be that we are going by some person to stay.

“But I contacted my representative Marsha Caddle and she knows about it and we are now waiting for officials to come. I am happy that no life was lost, but the conditions are very bad,” she said. (anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)