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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. 41.44;r0";=.4;‘ Yrye _ �s�+4 1rn s M�iarF — _ • s ! ae s R sa,.r> '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.