IT WAS parishioners in St Clement who first gave shocking eye-witness accounts of the tornado that left devastation in its wake as it ripped through the Island during Storm Ciarán…
But as the major clean-up operations continued into this week, the JEP followed the twister’s path of destruction north-east, where parishioners in St Martin reported scenes unlike anything they had witnessed before.
One resident, Rosemary Goodchild, lives in the middle of a group of cottages on Rue de Fliquet, which were left roofless.
The collateral damage from debris that had been flung through the air – and the many trees brought down – was also evident throughout the road, with the garden wall of a nearby property almost entirely caved-in.
Mrs Goodchild said that one of her neighbours was among the few casualties that had to be taken to hospital as a result of the storm.
She continued: “The noise was horrendous.
“I was shocked – my neighbours had already called the fire brigade, so they came and checked and then sent the honorary police.
“Of course they wouldn’t let us get much out of the house, they just bundled us out through the fields. It was pitch dark.
“The roof was already off, which was why we had to go around the back and through the fields because there were also trees down in the road.”
Mrs Goodchild – who also lost her cottage roof in the Great Storm of 1987 – was one of the Islanders temporarily placed in hotel accommodation.
She explained: “I’m looking for somewhere to live because I think the cottages will all have to be rebuilt, so it will be sometime before we get back in – that’s for sure. We are waiting for the assessors to come up.”
However, she added: “We are alive, that’s what we can be grateful for and we have just got to get on with it now.”
She described the damage done during last week’s storm as “far worse” than what she had experienced in 1987.
“I’ve never seen anything like it – it was just like a war zone.”
Another parishioner, Richard de la Haye – owner of the Beuvelande campsite – said the scale of the damage done to the area “hadn’t sunk in yet”.
The tornado completely destroyed several caravans, throwing some into hedges and scattering debris, as well as causing extensive damage to the al-fresco section of the on-site restaurant.
He said that it was a “miracle” the site had been closed at the time, noting that there would have been little protection available to campers.
He added: “Where would you have been safe? I have lived here all my life and I have never seen anything like it.
“I couldn’t go out to assess the damage until it was daylight, I was shocked.”
The JEP also spoke to a tree surgeon – who did not wish to be named – who told the paper he had been working nearby when the tornado passed through.
He said: “It pulled me along the ground. I felt the strength of it and my ears popped – I’ve never been so scared in my life.
“You could see the debris in it and everything else. I ran straight underneath the truck, I was hiding. It went straight across everything in its path and hit Fliquet.”
Another parishioner, Jacqueline Doran, who lives in Fliquet Castle, said: “It blew the glass out and all the furniture down.”
However, she added that the destruction had brought out the “big community spirit” in the area.
“People could have been killed.”
Parish Constable Karen Shenton-Stone said tornado experts from the UK had visited the parish at the weekend.
She noted that a number of properties had needed to be evacuated on the night.
She added: “I met some Fliquet residents who went back to gather their belongings and there are no words for it.
“Some of the cottage roofs went straight across the road – until you see it, it’s hard to comprehend. We have been clearing roads non-stop since the storm hit.
“Some parts of St Martin, because it is so rural, were completely cut off.”
She explained that the clean-up process was likely to take months.
“My heart goes out to everyone who has been affected and I also praise the efforts and co-ordination of the honorary police.”
