Within several minutes, 15 houses were ripped up by a tornado, uprooting trees and moving entire roofs.
Several plots in Nest Park, Bapsfontein, were struck by the weather phenomenon at about 5.15pm on July 26.
According to Jill Watson, one of the volunteers who helps those worst hit, 15 houses were severely damaged, affecting 130 people in the area, with some being displaced and taken in by neighbours.
Welbekend Helping Hands has undertaken the task of feeding those affected by the storm and bringing them dry clothing.
The Benoni Host, Benoni Van Rhyn, Benoni Lakes, Boksburg and Wilrow Park Lions clubs contributed a total of R23 000 worth of materials towards helping the residents, and the Lions District 14 B has pledged R20 000.
The Springs and Kempton Park SPCAs, Eskom, Lions clubs and Welbekend Helping Hands received praise from community members, for their ongoing efforts in the area.
Grant de Gouveia’s wife, Desireé, was taken to Netcare Linmed Hospital after the storm and was scheduled to go in for operation on July 28.
“She was sitting in the lounge when the storm came over; the window exploded inward and some of the glass hit her,” he said.
De Gouveia showed the City Times his bedroom, where the back wall and ceiling had caved in under the storm.
“Luckily it was in the afternoon, otherwise we might have been sleeping here,” he added.
One couple, Lizelle and Jaco Jacobs, spoke about what they would do if a tornado hit their home, after they saw footage of the Tembisa storm, on July 26.
Half an hour later, their home was ripped up by the passing funnel of speeding air.
“We said getting under a table would probably be best,” said Jaco.
When their house started rattling, Lizelle and the couple’s daughter, Jezelle (9), were in the kitchen and crawled under the table.
They felt they are lucky, for even though they are staying with a neighbour until their residence can be repaired, the whole family survived.
Desmond E R Wade (72) worried neighbours when he ventured onto his roof after the passing storm.
“I’m fit enough; I had to remove the loose corrugated steel plates, otherwise they could fall,” Wade said.
He pointed out that one of the plates had been flung from his roof, into a tree next to the house.
On a plot where a workforce of at least 50 had helped to clean in the tornado’s aftermath, the residents told the City Times the entire roof of an outside deck had been lifted and placed on one of the houses in the yard.
“The gravity of it all hit me when I got outside and saw a roof, which was supposed to be 20m away, on my cottage,” said Leanne Parker.
Parker explained how she grabbed her son, Tyler Nel (5), from the bathtub when the sounds of wind and hail alarmed her.
“It’s a steel bath and I was worried about lightning; so I put him on the floor, threw a towel over him, lay on top myself, and then our dog jumped on me,” Parker said.
She was amazed by the response from the community, saying: “They bring us food, people helped to clean here and Eskom had our power back on by the next day, which was shockingly fast.”
Watson said the community effort needs metal and plastic sheeting for roofs, nails, plugs, screws, fencing, wire, grinding discs and welding rods.
By: Erik van Dijk
Photo: By Benoni City Times “The aftermath of the tornado at Lizelle and Jaco Jacobs’s house.”
