Offers of help pouring in for Torbay couple after storm tears roof off house
With winds whipping the northeast Avalon Peninsula on Saturday afternoon, Kelly Young of Torbay returned to her rented home to a sight that left her in shock.
The hurricane-strength winds had torn the roof off the home she and her husband had moved into just a week earlier.
"We came home and found that we are no longer into a home," she said.
"I was numb, worried that I was going to lose all my personal belongings, fearful of where I was going to sleep that night. Just completely numb."
'We'd just started to settle in'
It was less than a month ago that Young and her husband moved in after finally finding a house they liked and wanted to rent.
"We were completely happy," she said.
"We'd just started to settle in. We were about 80 per cent unpacked."
Young said she feels fortunate no one was at home at the time.
"We were really lucky that there was nobody home, but the damage did occur upstairs, so as long as there was no one upstairs in the home, we probably would have been OK," she said.
The frustrating thing, she said, is that the house is not safe for them to retrieve their belongings.
6 to 8 months for repairs
The house was insured, but she's still been told that it will take a while to get everything straightened out — from six to eight months before the house will be repaired.
"So until then we have nothing but the clothes on our back. (But) Walmart's there, Costco's there, so all is good," she said, adding that she's been gratified by the calls that have already started coming in from friends and family, offering shelter and clothing.
"Things will happen in time, and things will get better in time, and we do what we can."
She and her husband will be staying with their daughter until they can find something else.
"As long as everybody's safe, and everybody's healthy, that's OK."
