MINUTES after they had walked into their home with their newborn baby, a Sandfields couple’s home came crashing down after being hit by the tornado.
First time parents, Adel Naidoo, 27, an occupational safety officer, and her husband, Viven, 36, a boilermaker, had renovated their home in time to welcome baby Kezia Alison, to the world, on June 1.
But on June 3, minutes after they had walked into their home with their baby, the tornado devastated their home.
Adel recalled that while holding tightly onto Kezia and praying that God would spare their lives, glass shattered around her, the roof tiles flew off, the ceilings collapsed and part of the house structure fell.
Rebuilding their lives, three weeks on, Adel said this disaster had taught them that ‘material things did not matter.’
Thankfully their home was insured.
“Engineers have inspected our home and declared it safe to rebuild. In the meantime, the family have rented a flat in Tongaat,” said Viven.
“Most of our things were damaged and the roof was blown off. While looking for places to rent, we noticed that landlords had increased the rent and were asking for high deposits. It is sad how people are trying to capitalise on this tragedy,” he said.
Adel said they had arrived home with their baby at around 4pm and were excited to settle into their home after spending three days in hospital.
“Viven took the baby into the house and left her in the cot in the bedroom. He then came outside and helped me to get out of the car. By this time, the tornado was fast approaching.”
She had held onto her baby tightly and knew something was wrong when the trap door in the passage near her bedroom suddenly opened and shut.
“In a matter of seconds, the windows shattered and debris flew from all directions into the house. I just held my baby tightly and stood frozen. I screamed for Viven but he could not hear me. The light bulbs were popping. All I knew was that I had to keep my tiny baby safe. I could see the sky through the rafters of the roof. I prayed that God would keep us safe,” she said.
Viven said when the house started flooding, they knew they had to get out.
“I knew I had to get them out of the house. We made it to the car and tried calling for help, but there was no signal,” he said.
Adel, who had had a caesarean section, said as she ran to the car in the hail- storm with the baby, she did not care about the pain.
The couple said they sat in the car for about two hours before they got help.
“Luckily we had a few items in the bags, which I had packed for the hospital stay, that Viven never got to take out of the car. My heart sank as I made milk for my baby with cold bottled water, and changed her diapers in the car while glass and roof tiles hit our car.
“I prayed that the windows of the car would not shatter and that we would survive this. I begged God for his mercy on us,” Adel said.
When the couple found out they were pregnant, they excitedly renovated their home and added new cupboards, tiles and painted.
“Everything was destroyed and ruined in a minute.
“But it teaches us that material things do not matter. What is important to us is our family. We plan to rebuild our home with God’s grace and we are patiently waiting for the go ahead from the insurance to start rebuilding,” Viven added.