Strong winds blow roof off Valley View building
The iron roof landed on a nearby playground.
TWO Arundle Gardens families have been left frustrated and distraught after the roof of their Valley View homes got blown away by the strong winds on Tuesday.
According to Portia Shabalala, her and her husband, Sanele were at work when they were informed.
“We weren’t even home when the incident happened. We were still at work, we had to rush home so we could salvage whatever we could,” she said.
On arriving home, Portia and Sanele found the corrugated iron roof off the block of flats had been blown off by winds reaching the speeds of 40 knots. “The wind completely blew it away, luckily the ceiling board was still in place even though it was dripping.”
Personnel from SOHCO, the company that owns the low cost building, attended to the scene immediately. It also hired out the services of a contractor who looked at the damage would fix the roof as soon as wind speeds had dropped.
The iron roof landed on the nearby play area but not before striking a resident’s car. “The roof blew right to the jungle gym area and it damaged a car before coming to a complete halt. Luckily no children were playing as it was raining,” said Sanele.
A representative from SOHCO said they were currently organising alternative accommodation for the two families, while the contractors worked to replace the roof and ceiling board.
