Times
www.gippslandtimes.com.au
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2021
GIPPSLAND
$1.70 Inc. GST Tel: 5143 9333
& MAFFR RA SPECTATOR
PAGE 7
FREE DISPOSAL FOR
PAGE 3
GREEN WASTE
WIND STORM CLEAN-UP
CONTINUES TuesdaySunny Mostly- Min: sunny Min:25 4 Max: 14 Tuesday 9 -Max:
WEATHER
INSIDE
ax: 22 14 Thursday Rain easing- Min: 14 Max:
Wednesday Rain - Min: 13 Max: 29
PropertyGuide GippslandTimes
Friday’s ferocious wind storm:
Family of six homeless A PEARSONDALE family has been left homeless after Friday’s ferocious wind storm ripped apart much of their house. Mum Rachel Zammit and her eldest daughter, 19-year-old Mia, were sitting in the kitchen about 11.30am discussing how they were worried about whether the fence would survive the storm, when the adjoining living room was suddenly ripped apart. “There was no warning,” Rachel said. “The whole thing went ‘whoosh’. “The howling ... it happened so quickly — that’s the traumatic part.” Glass shattered, prints were ripped from walls and the living room was reduced to rubble in seconds. Miraculously, they escaped without a scratch. Rachel lives in the house with her children Mia, Nadia, aged 14, Adele, 10, Lidia, 8, and Esta, 7, and they have found temporary accommodation paid for by the girls’ schools, Catholic College Sale and St Mary’s, along with food vouchers. But it is not a long term solution. “Some people say they can put us up — but there’s so many of us,” Rachel said. Speaking yesterday, which was also
Rachel’s birthday, she said they were all in shock. “We’re devastated that we lost our house — I’m gutted.” Rachel said since she bought the house 21 months ago and had been slowly renovating bits and pieces. “Now all that hard work is gone. I want my home back. I want my bedroom back. We’re all distressed.” But she said people had been supportive. “I’ve been overwhelmed with people helping — it’s just beautiful. “It breaks me down in tears,” she said. Soon after the house was ripped apart by the wind, neighbours and people Rachel didn’t even know were on site retrieving clothes and precious items like photos, as winds howled around them and rain threatened. Thankfully, the home was insured, but with all insurance companies overwhelmed with phone calls, Rachel has been having difficulties getting information about where she goes from here. “I don’t feel like I’m a priority,” she said. — Julianne Langshaw
Correction on school COVID information
Mia Zammit and her mother Rachel Zammit were in the kitchen of their Pearsondale home when the adjoining living room was ripped away during Friday’s frightening wind storm. Photo: Julianne Langshaw
Friday's Gippsland Times had an article which stated Sale's Araluen Primary School Grade 3 cohort had been exposed to a positive COVID case. This was incorrect. The school involved was St Thomas' Primary School, Sale, which has since been deep cleaned. For the remaining year levels, it is business as usual at St Thomas', as students and teachers in the Grade 3 cohort isolate. The Gippsland Times regrets any confusion or distress this may have caused.
YOUR TEAM
Servicing Repairs Maintenance Parts Accessories
Shania
We have free loan cars available
We wash, vac & sanitise your car
Jay - Parts Manager
Mickayla
• • • • •
Servicing Repairs Maintenance Parts Accessories
SALE MAZDA & MITSUBISHI 273 York St, Sale Ph: 5144 1311 www.salemazdaandmitsubishi.com.au
LMCT. 10439
Quualiffied pa Qualified part artt time imee orr fu full-time ull-- imee CALL
Come out of retirement for 20% wage increase
HARaymond IR IS KStreet, ANYESale MBA Phone 5144 5746
GP1633961
• • • • •
Kerran - Service Manager
“We service all makes & models, getting your car ready to hit the road this summer. We have a wide range of parts & accessories available with expert advice you can trust.”