Family recounts terrifying moments as winds rip through home

A Lautoka family is counting the cost of Severe Tropical Cyclone Vaianu after strong winds tore apart parts of their home within minutes.

Sanjay Salesh Kumar, 56, said it felt as if a tornado had passed when the Category 3 system ripped through his property along Johnson Road in Drasa yesterday morning.

Mr Kumar, a part-time market vendor, was asleep with his wife and two sons when the damage occurred between 6.30am and 7am.

He said he had secured the house with ropes and cables after receiving cyclone warnings, but the winds intensified suddenly.

“I heard my son shouting and calling me from his bedroom, which is close to the lean-to that was blown away,” he said.

When he rushed outside, the family’s outdoor lean-to — where they usually spend time together — had been torn off and thrown onto the roof, causing further damage and leaks.

Trees around the property were uprooted or stripped of branches, while the family’s garage was also blown away.

Similar damage was reported at his brother’s home opposite, where a structure and its poles were torn off.

“Looking outside, it felt as if a tornado had passed, damaging everything in its path,” he said.

“We are struggling with leaks, and repairs can only be done once the rain and wind ease.”

Across the area, power lines were down, homes partially damaged, and debris scattered as the cyclone battered parts of Lautoka.