Aunt’s Loud Scream Saves Five-Month Pregnant Woman And Cousin
I was lying on the bed at around 1am when I saw that the roofing iron had become loose and was moving so I moved down to the floor and slept beside my cousin.
Tuesday 02 February 2021 | 09:25
CLOSE CALL... Mere Meleyaga (left) and Arieta Cama escaped unhurt after their corrugated roofing iron missed hitting them as they lay asleep on the floor. Their home at Waidradra Village, Navua, was not spared after Tropical Cyclone Ana ravaged through the area. Ms Cama is five months pregnant. Photo: Leon Lord
A five-month pregnant woman told of her near-death experience as winds lifted their rooftop, crashed into the house just seconds after she moved out of its way.
Had it not been for her aunt’s scream, Arieta Cama of Waidradra Village, Navua, said the story would have been different.
She said the timber and roofing iron fell in right where she was sleeping when winds from Cyclone Ana picked up.
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It was about 6am on Sunday when Ms Cama and her cousin Mere Meleyaga, 18, were awoken by their aunt Torika Liku, 46, who alerted them to the weak structure.
The 23-year-old said her aunt’s loud scream woke them up and just as they rolled to their side the roof fell in.
“I was lying on the bed at around 1am when I saw that the roofing iron had become loose and was moving so I moved down to the floor and slept beside my cousin,” she said.
“I was fast asleep when I heard my aunt’s loud voice.
“She shouted for us to move because of the roof. It was a good thing that there were only two of us sleeping on the floor so we moved out of the way quickly.”
Still shaken from their near-death experience the two girls ran to their uncle’s house where they stayed the rest of the day.
The family later sought refuge at an evacuation centre nearby.
Her aunt Ms Liku, who was up all night keeping a watch on the house, said she had just entered the house that morning when a gust of wind lifted the roof before it crashed down on the house.
Never in their wildest dream did the family think that a category two cyclone would destroy their home.
“We didn’t think the wind would be so strong. It started around 9pm and we didn’t think much of it so we continued drinking grog throughout the night,” Ms Liku said.
“The next morning then the winds picked up. Our house has withstood all the cyclones that have hit but unfortunately it could not withstand Tropical Cyclone Ana.”
A day after the cyclone, the family managed to fix their roof, clean the house and have now moved back home.
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