Tornado victim can’t come home
Covid crisis in Fiji means no chance of a proper farewell
Fiji’s dire Covid-19 situation means the parents of Janesh Prasad, the man killed in South Auckland’s freak tornado, won’t be able to properly farewell their son.
Prasad, a diesel mechanic in his early 40s, was working at a Wiri container yard on Saturday morning when the tornado ripped through the Ports of Auckland site.
The Stellar Machinery employee was believed to have been working on a forklift when he died.
Prasad had almost no wider wha¯nau in New Zealand, having migrated from Fiji about six years ago with wife Mala and children Ashley, 13, and Jesh, 10. His parents, who were in their 70s or 80s, still lived in Fiji.
Vishal Kumar, who said he and Prasad were “like brothers”, explained with most of Prasad’s family in Fiji, his body could have been sent home so his parents could say goodbye before he was cremated. But with the pandemic raging, this was difficult.
And with no quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Fiji — which recorded 150 new cases in a 24-hour period ending 8am on June 19 — Prasad’s parents were unable to make the trip.
“It’s hard to get words out of [Prasad’s parents]”, Kumar said, referencing their immense grief. The funeral will be on Wednesday. Prasad’s Henderson-based family were just as shocked by the passing of their husband and father.
“The whole family is trying to come to terms with what just happened,” Kumar said.
“What we read and what we heard, it’s beyond imagination, you know?”
Prasad was the family’s sole earner and financially supported his wha¯nau in Fiji. A Givealittle page was set up, which had attracted more than $20,000 by last night.
However, Kumar said the family’s residency was among their main concerns as Prasad had been about to gain permanent residency.
“We are still wondering what’s going to happen because he was on Work to Residence visa and his two years were just coming up.”
Kumar spoke of Prasad’s generosity, often helping people during funerals.
“It was just his nature [to help people who were grieving].”
A truck driver at the container yard was also injured. Dozens of shipping containers toppled, with at least one weighing 30 tonnes tossed in the air during the freak event.
Prasad’s family wanted to thank New Zealanders for the support they’d received.
Meanwhile, more than 1200 homes were affected with more than 60 left uninhabitable after the tornado tore off roofs and garage doors, uprooted trees, smashed windows, toppled vehicles and left stunned residents cowering and praying in their homes.
“The noise was horrendous . . . it sounded like a plane was landing on our house,” said Annelise Greenfield, who huddled in the hallway with her husband and three kids, hugging and praying, as the tornado tore its way up Grande Vue Rd in Papatoetoe.
“My 10-year-old thought she was going to die.”
Going outside, they found their letterbox at the front door, their shed roof in another street, a van flipped and homes without roofs.
“It was quite devastating and there’s a lot of people in shock.”
The Greenfields have to repair damage to their home of 15 years before they shift to Shelly Park in East Auckland and the new owner moves in.
The sale of the house went unconditional two weeks ago. Annelise said she had let the new owner know about the damage. That owner’s insurance will pay for the repairs.
Melissa Siaea lived in a Papatoetoe block of flats, and each unit was gutted, with the building’s roof ripped off and most windows obliterated: “Out of all the windows, we’re the only ones that haven’t shattered.”
That was small consolation. She said rain fell yesterday, turning her upstairs floor into a swamp.
The Government has given Auckland Council $100,000 to support residents.
Multiple witnesses have described the tornado as lasting only about 30-45 seconds. Auckland mayor Phil Goff said it was fortunate more lives weren’t taken during the freak event.
“It’s a miracle that actually there weren’t dozens of serious injuries and even fatalities.”