HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2011-08-24, Page 25nal -Star • Wednesday, August 24, 2011
oupIe escape West Street apartment
()of torn off
eighbourin$ unit
nekham was right in the
!t the storm - living above
le Jewelers at the corner of
reet and Courthouse
is sitting on his couch
noticed heavy rain turned
:ed out the window, and
my ears started to pop. "
lie and wife, Ange, took shelter
in their bathroom. When it was all
over, he said, there was water leak-
ing into his place and one window
blown in.
Next door, the entire roof was
ripped off.
"Downstairs, there was a family
of four huddled in the doorway.
They were all bloody. They were
driving around in their car and it
got picked up and landed on top
of our car."
Parkham said they got the fam-
ily inside out of the rain, and when
the police showed up, got them to
the hospital.
One of the women was struck by
a two-by-four in the stomach.
"After that, I grabbed some
clothes, the cat and my laptop and
left.
"We were told we couldn't go
back."
The Packhams went to Tim's
parents' place, further down West
Street.
Richard Packharn noted it was
all very sudden.
"The rain and hail and wind
picked up," he said. 1 saw a tree
come down across the street Luck-
ily it missed our house. Trees from
the. south side of WestStreet are
now on the north side"
Other than a few shingles and
broken windows, Richard said his
home was okay - an anomaly along
hard-hit West Street. The house
directly across the street, he said,
has no roof.
"1 can't say it wasfrightening,"
he said of thestorm's onset. "But it
was really eerie."
The Packhams were awaiting
news at the Columbus Centre
Monday, hoping to get back into
their apartment and survey the
damage.
.the she hof he p me ._ es a urger a completely cotleps d
ng emp
rooms
resident Ian Gould saw a funnel cloud full of swirling paper from hole #3 at
and Golf Club.
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'he baby's room got it worst": Purser
lust sorting through the
id Picton Street East res -
Klan Purser. "The baby's
t worst"
Sarah llessel and their
Vada, got to the base -
as the ceiling collapsed
sm Sunday.
lire house is trashed;
onday afternoon. "I've
s of roofing from t h e
lumber yard (next door) in my liv-
ing room."
Just coming off a night shift,
Purser said he was Just about to
join Sarah and Vada, who were
upstairs taking a nap.
"I felt the wind change and didn't
really think anything of it. I went
inside and as 1 was taking my shoes
off, it was getting worse and worse."
He said he ran into the
bedroom, woke Sarah up and told
her to get into the basement. He
then ran into the baby's room.
"As I picked Vada up out of the
crib the window blew in, he said.
"As we got out of the hallway part of
the ceiling caved in behind us. We
ran down the stairs frantically, stuff
was coming in the house at that
point Our ears were popping."
They couldbarely get the
basement door open because of the
back pressure and as they ran down
the stairs, Purser said the whole
.house shifted on its foundation.
"You could see daylight," he
said.
When the storm abated, he ran
upstairs, got clothes and baby
supplies and when he looked out
at the neighbourhood, things had
changed drastically.
"I looked out at the lumber
yard," he said. It was gone."
Purser, a long-time musician,
held an impromptu concert at
what is left of his house Monday
night, to cheer up the neighbour-
hood and make the most of a bad
situation.
They are currently staying with
relatives, awaiting news from
insurance.