By Barbara Ellington, Senior Gleaner Writer

Watching helplessly as the roof of your dream house collapses on top of you is painful for anyone, and moreso for seniors who have saved, retired from their toils and come back home for their piece of paradise. When they chose to spend their retirement years in Mandeville, Manchester, like so many others, the Burrells and the Seniors were attracted to the town's salubrious climate, not extreme natural disasters.

OVER 20 years ago, the eight houses on Oak-wood Drive, Wood-lawn, Mandeville, were built by the same contractor. Alvin and Lelia Senior bought theirs over 15 years ago, and lost the roof during the passage of Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. On the night of Friday, September 10, the roof of their house caved in for the second time as a result of showers triggered by Hurricane Ivan.

When The Gleaner visited Oakwood Drive, seven of eight houses had lost their roofs. The spectacle of expensive carpets spread out to dry on lawns and fences spoke volumes.

Lelia Senior said on the night of the hurricane, she heard a swoshing sound followed by a thud, and upon inspection, a section of the living room ceiling had come crashing in. "After that, the roof of our three bedroom house just went," she said, pointing to sheets of zinc that had curled like dog-eared paper and blown several yards away. Whatever they salvaged was with the help of Gian Farquharson who lives downstairs, and who came to their rescue at 1:30 a.m. He almost single-handedly helped them to move to safer quarters downstairs, and take furniture to the garage and clothing to the washroom and kitchen ­ the only two rooms that escaped the fury.

UPSET OVER SHODDY WORK

They are upset with the contractor for what they call shoddy work and sad about the loss of furniture that, not meant for the tropics, simply crumpled when soaked with the downpour.

"We consider ourselves lucky to be rescued by Gian; he saw it all and helped us move out. But we had insurance and hope to put things back together eventually," Mrs. Senior said.

To get across the road, the news team navigated the fallen utility posts and roofing material. Mr. Percival Burrell, now 80, is sitting in the only dry chair as he eats a meal of patties and a drink. Naturally, he wants to know what the team could do to ease his situation, and is in no mood for conversation. Mrs. Burrell showed the team the result of Ivan's visit.

The couple and their seven-year-old niece spent the night of Ivan's passage on their verandah ­ the only spot in their five-bedroom house that was not leaking. The kitchen's ceiling was sitting on the floor and the only dry items were their clothing.

A GOOD DECISION

"When the storm started, my niece was alone in her room, but she came over to us and went to sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor, but we put her in our bed because she was afraid. That was a good decision because as soon as she lay down, the roof fell in the exact spot where she was on the floor," Mrs. Burrell said.

The roof of the child's room also caved in and thereafter it was a systematic caving in of roof and blowing way of zinc sheets. "We had to stay on the verandah until 7:00 a.m. when Gian Farquharson again played the role of rescuer to his neighbours. None of our rooms escaped," she said.

Luckily, like their neighbours, the Burrells' property was insured.