Family still not home
Some Westport residents were still unsure whether they would be able to go home.
Nothando and Mthandazo Ndebele lived on Menzies St, near the domain on the banks of the Buller River – one of the first places to be evacuated.
As the floodwaters started to go down yesterday, Nothando Ndebele was able to see her home up close for the first time since the storm struck.
‘‘We’re used to having rain in Westport. We saw the water coming, but thought it’d be fine. We left Friday night, thinking Saturday morning, we’ll be back in the house.’’
When her husband went back on Sunday, he had to brave chest-deep water to get inside, and it was up to his knees throughout the house.
Almost everything had been destroyed, leaving them with just the clothes on their backs.
Ndebele said they had lived in the house for 14 years, since arriving from Zimbabwe, and had raised a family there.
‘‘It’s not the flashiest house, but it’s my home.’’
She said there had been so much generosity shown from the community.
‘‘People have been reaching out and asking, what do you need? But at the moment we don’t know what we need. In times like this, you notice what’s of value. It’s just things, you get attached, but it’s just things.’’
The family had been staying at their pastor’s house in the meantime, and had been offered something more long-term.
‘‘[But] the housing situation in Westport is bad. There are people living in motels because you can’t find rentals. I’d have been homeless.’’