Heavy rains leave Glenashley family destitute

HUNDREDS of people are still struggling to recover from the wake of destruction caused Monday’s heavy rains. While many suffered flooding, and damaged walls, the Bernard family in Glenashley have lost almost everything except for their beloved pets.

The family’s home on David Avenue was completely destroyed in the floods when the boundary wall collapsed onto the property. Within minutes thousands of litres of water and mud flooded their home, destroying everything they own.

Andre Bernard (55) and his wife, Charmaine along with their dogs were forced to sleep in their car for the first two nights after the storm, as they were unable to find a hotel that would accommodate their four-legged companions.

“There is nothing we can salvage,” he said on Friday.

The Bernard’s next door neighbours also suffered extensive damage.

“I watched the water flow from the collapsed storm-water drain on Marion Avenue through three of the properties and gush into Doreen Crescent. At that point the water was already one metre high. It turned down into David Avenue and blew my gate off of the railings and flooded my basement and front yard,” said the anonymous resident who was travelling home at the time. 

The neighbour said the water flooded his wife’s car and dozens of electronic equipment he had stored in his garage.

“The source of all this water was the collapsed storm-water drain, which has not yet been fixed. We are terrified that we will experience more flooding on Sunday as there has been a forecast of 30 per cent rain,” he said. 

The residents said they had reported the damaged drain to disaster management and simply received a reference number.

“We were told that the resources were very restricted at this point as there is a lot of damage across the city. We understand that, but we feel that this is a major issue and the current system does not enable the department to determine which damage reports are urgent,” added Bernard.