“IT feels like something out of a movie.”
Shaffee Shaik, 36, was watching television when his home in Jan Roz in Fairbreeze, Tongaat, began to shake.
“I had no idea what was going on. My family and I ran to the kitchen and took cover on the floor in fear for our lives. The windows shattered and the roof was blown off. Within minutes, the house was flooded. My father went to a window to see what was going on and it shattered. My older brother tried to help him but he was injured by the burglar guard.”
Shaik said when it was calmer, they went outside to check on the damages.
He added that his job was running a park-and-ride from the airport for people who travelled internationally. Shaik parked their cars on his property.
He said: “Five of these cars were parked outside my home and they were all wrecked. My personal car was also destroyed. We had no choice but to leave our home. We took my brother to the local clinic to receive treatment for his injuries.”
His uncle, Mohammed Rafiek Hamed, 61, said while the family was at the clinic, the house was looted.
“Everything happened so fast. First their home was destroyed, then they were injured and then the house was looted. The little that survived the tornado was stolen. Sofas, documents and other valuables are all gone. They were only left with a few things that we put in some black plastic bags for safe keeping,” said Hamed.
He described the situation as tragic.
“This experience felt like something out of a movie. I still cannot believe what has happened.”