Help Fourie family recover from Rockview Road washaway disaster
The Fouries urgently need to find alternate accommodation by the end of the month.
Three weeks after losing everything in the Rockview Road washaway, the Fourie family is finding it difficult to piece back their shattered lives. “We are not doing great and we are still trying to put everything together,” said Johan.
The Fouries have been living in a house kindly sponsored for a month by Joan Cass of Pay It Forward, but they urgently need to find alternate accommodation by the end of the month. Johan was fortunate to be lent a vehicle by Fury Ford after he lost his Mercedes and Huyandai SUV, which are currently at a salvage dealer after being written off.
The Fouries had been renting number 47 Rockview Road for just two months when disaster struck. Johan was in the bar at about 10.30pm when he heard a crack. When he opened the door to look outside he was stunned to find himself looking into a deep donga. As he and his grandson Tiaan ran from the room, it too fell away into the gorge. They were that close to death. Fortunately the family and their two small dogs made it to safety, but they lost all their possessions.
“It has been hard on all of us. Where we are living, I can’t even let my dogs out, as there are bigger dogs on the premises. It is very difficult at the moment. We had no insurance, so we are battling.”
Johan believes that 75 per cent of the blame for the washaway can be attributed to the drainage system in Rockview Road and the municipality’s maintenance of the system.
READ ALSO: Weather sees house collapse, road wash away in Rockview Road, Amanzimtoti
“Four days prior, I went and complained to the superintendent of storm water about the water pooling in the road whenever it rained hard. I even offered to sort out the problem if he gave me a team. In the two months we lived there, the road flooded three times. People don’t realise how much we have lost. Tiaan even lost his motorbike. And we are tired of hearing about false rumours and horrible messages people are posting on social media.”
The Fouries thank the community for helping them, CC Crane Hire, Ford Fury, Jean Mare, Claim Automation, Thirsty Whale, Clearwater Spur, Wakefields, Pay It Forward, Joan Cass, all the schools that contributed, and all their friends and family for making this tragedy bearable.
READ ALSO: Businessman reaches out to Rockview Road victims
“We are still unsure of our immediate future, but we are doing our best to get back on our feet and come to terms that what we have lost can never be recovered. We believe that in time we will recover. For now we are just thankful to be alive.”
To help the Fouries, donate to https://clickdonate.com/fourie-disaster-fund-amanzimtoti-goal-r-750-000/.
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