The two apartment blocks in the Green Lanes sustained damage to their roofs, which caused debris to hit other apartments. Risk assessments of the buildings are currently ongoing, with residents allowed in briefly this afternoon to collect some belongings. They will stay in hotels again tonight.
Sonia Rocha lives in the most badly damaged apartment building. She was in bed when she heard a loud bang.
‘I checked and it was the car windscreen being smashed. I thought that part of the wall had collapsed, but it was actually the roof,’ she said.
‘I couldn’t sleep any more because I was worried, and then someone knocked on my door.’
She and her neighbours were relocated to the main hall of the premises, away from the wind, and had to wait for about an hour while arrangements were made for hotel stays. ‘Even once we went to the hotel I wasn’t able to sleep,’ Ms Rocha said.
‘I was just so worried most of the night and eventually woke up with headaches.
‘We’re okay, we’re just worried about the cat.’
‘To see them have to leave their homes like that is really sad’
Incidents of damage were reported from 8.30pm on Thursday.
Most of the damage came from one apartment block, another was evacuated due to damage, and some residents in other blocks were evacuated to avoid debris.
‘Things were flying around like bullets, and some damage is from part of the roof coming off and hitting other blocks,’ said John Merrien, a director of the flats.
‘The most important thing is we’ve got no reports of injuries and no reports of death.’
More than 90 units of housing and between 50 and 55 residents were evacuated.
‘We have an incredible group of tenants here, a very low turnover and a lot of people have lived here for 15 or 20 years.
‘To see them have to leave their homes like that is really sad,’ said Mr Merrien.
‘This place is like a little village and to see such extensive damage and people’s cars being damaged, it’s just horrible.’
Mr Merrien said he hoped to get a scaffolding canopy over the damaged roofs quickly to get some people back into their homes.
‘It’s a massive clean-up operation and we’re trying to minimise disruption for the people who live here, it’s really scary for people,’ he said.
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