By Nasiha Khan
The Smith family, who resides in the Parkhill area, are battling for their lives to return to normal after their home in Lancaster Grove was heavily impacted by last month’s floods.
Neil and Lynn-Rae Smith, along with their children, aged 10, six and three, have been left traumatised after their home deteriorated to unliveable conditions following a mudslide from the property above theirs.
“This experience has been very traumatic, as we were displaced for a month. Commuting our kids to school over 50km a day became a financial burden. Our yard is still full of mud and the stench of the standing water is an everyday reminder of our trauma. Our everyday activities like bathing, laundry and using the toilet are now daily challenges. We are currently not able to store any food items in the house as the damp conditions destroy most items, we also have no place to store anything we were able to salvage from the flood,” said the Smith’s.
This is the second time that the Smith family has suffered such an ordeal. The last was during the heavy rains in 2016, where the family lost everything including their vehicles when a complex wall collapsed and flooded the housing estate in Tenby Place, Greenwood Park.
Last month the Smith’s were once again forced to leave their home, in fear of the house above them falling into theirs. Upon returning to their home, earlier this month, they found that their entire kitchen was ruined and water to date has been seeping through the floor.
“We cancelled our home insurance in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and being unable to afford it. At the moment we cannot stay in our home as the drains are all blocked, the mud came back up the drain and into bath and shower, our toilets still cannot flush due to the blocked drains. The walls of our house are saturated from the water and the mud. Since the flood we now have water running on the property and we have notified the eThekwini Municipality about it. Our furniture was damaged and is now covered with mould as are the walls.”
In the first week of returning home, and since their first plea for assistance on the 12 April to eThekwini Municipality, the Smith family has received a positive response from Penny Hulley, the HR Director of United Construction Iron Doggs Workforce.
“She told our story to Jennifer Fisher, an activist who soon became a voice for us in our ordeal. This opened the platform to engage with council. Bazi Dhukan, an engineer, came forward to assist to generate a structural report for council alongside councillor Shontel De Boer. He then sponsored a TLB to move the mudslide away from the house and reduce the pressure on the structure. This engagement then led to correspondence with the eThekwini Municipality to visit our property to evaluate the damage. We are currently still engaged with council to determine the running waters origin. Teens Under the Hood SA has also blessed us with assistance to start the clean up process. They have partially removed the mud around the geyser, removed the mud in the kitchen and started digging the mud out of the pool,” said the Smith family.
Michelle Beaumont of TUTHSA has appealed to the community to come forward to assist the Smith family. She said: “Caring communities are strong communities and many people have taken an affect by recent events that Durban has faced. We can only rebuild our city, country, the world, our people by being kind to each other.”
The Smiths are currently in need of a container to store their items that they have managed to salvage. Services such as like jet washing of the drains and machinery to help remove sand will also be greatly appreciated.
“Despite all that has transpired, we are blessed to be alive. We are so thankful that our lives were spared through this ordeal, and even more humbled by the incredible individuals who have stepped forward to come to our aid so far. It is a reminder that God never sleeps,” said the Smith family.
To assist the Smith family with any of the above or more, contact Neil on 081-324-1325.
