A TWO-BEDROOM wooden house constructed on stilts at D’Urban Backlands in Georgetown collapsed on Wednesday afternoon, displacing Shelly Beckles and her husband, Oswald Simon.Ms Beckles told the Chronicle that she was resting in bed, home alone at about 14:00 hrs, when she suddenly heard a cracking sound and felt the house quivering. And before she realised what was happening, her house had come crashing down, flinging her off her bed to be trapped under some debris, where she sustained injury to her back and feet.

Beckles said that when neighbours saw what had happened, they came to render assistance, and she was rescued and taken to safety.

She said, “I am still in disbelief, because the house was not very old and shaky, and suddenly it fell from its pillars to the ground just so, plunging myself and husband in distress.”

She related that she and her husband have been occupying their house at that location for the past 18 years. She noted that, prior to the incident, the edifice used to shake slightly. It was constructed about nine feet off the ground on wooden support posts, and was reputedly a relatively strong structure before it collapsed.

Beckles said she is very thankful she had survived the ordeal with only minor injuries, but she now walks with a limp.

She expressed deep gratitude to her neighbours for reaching out to her and her husband apart from coming to her rescue, and she explained that her neighbours have even been providing meals for her and her husband since Wednesday, because all her household appliances, including her stove, have been damaged beyond repair, and neither she nor her husband has anywhere else to go.

Beckles said what little of her belongings she has managed to salvage is at her neighbours.

Since the incident the couple has been trying to put the pieces back together, and have begun clearing the backyard to construct a cottage, where they will reside until they can rebuild, since they are presently not in a strong financial position.

Beckles said they would welcome any assistance at this time, because they need it, since they lost almost everything in terms of material possessions. (Michel Outridge)

By Michel Outridge