Sisters shocked by tornado won’t sleep by windows
Two sisters who were woken on Saturday morning by the sound of smashing glass are now too scared to sleep near windows, their father says.
A freak tornado ripped through Papatoetoe in south Auckland on Saturday, damaging homes in its path and leaving one person, Janesh Singh, dead.
Fitzroy St resident Amandeep Singh, 35, said his daughters, 4-year-old Jasmine Kaur, and 7-year-old Arma Singh, have been left traumatised by their ordeal.
They are refusing to sleep near the windows in the motel room they’ve had to take shelter in after their home was severely damaged.
‘‘They worry about the windows smashing, trees coming in ... they ask about the tornado and worry if it will strike again,’’ Singh said.
Singh said his daughters were in their rooms sleeping when the tornado struck about 8am on Saturday. They were woken by the sound of strong winds and smashed windows, and broken glass flying everywhere.
‘‘They were in their rooms, my wife and I were in ours. All we could do was pull the blankets over our heads to make sure we didn’t get struck by broken glass.’’
The children now ‘‘want to be next to us all the time’’ and don’t want to sleep alone, Singh said.
‘‘I try to be there for them, answer their questions, but I’m also struggling with the fact that we may not have our home back again, not anytime soon.
‘‘It’s been stressful, frustrating, we’re all trying to deal with it the best way we can, but there’s a lot of worry about the next few weeks and months.’’
Singh moved into the Fitzroy St home in 2005.
The damage to his house is among the worst on the street.
‘‘We have no roof, windows are smashed, cracks and dents here and there. We are in a motel right now, but we have to find a place to rent, that’s our reality right now,’’ he said.
‘‘We want to stay nearby because of school for the kids. We’ll see how it goes, we just have to stay positive.’’
Auckland’s deputy mayor Bill Cashmore said home repairs would need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
He said about 45 inspectors had been deployed to assess the damage.
At least 60 homes have been deemed uninhabitable for the time being. ‘‘Those families have to be catered for and looked after as best as we possibly can, within the abilities of the council to do so,’’ Cashmore said.
‘‘We have to work with those families, along with the
Government, to get them back on their feet.
‘‘We’ll work our way through as best we can and provide backup and support as we can, but I am not going to pretend, for one minute, that it’s going to be perfect in all cases because it won’t be. It’s the reality.’’
Anyone with concerns is asked to contact Police on 105.
Those with welfare concerns can contact 0800 22 22 00 for assistance.