High winds damage several homes in Lodge

Jun 28, 2009 News

-popular taxi service severely affected

This roof was completely blown off by the high winds.

High winds around midday yesterday blew the roof off of a Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge building, almost crippling the operations of a popular taxi service.
Although the dispatcher for the Vegas Taxi Service suffered minor injuries, several equipment including the radio transmission set were damaged, after they were left exposed to a heavy downpour which was already in progress.
The dispatcher, who gave her name as Shondell, recalled that it was raining heavily and she was sitting at her desk when she observed the wires leading to the establishment sparking during a storm that saw flashes of lightning and bursts of thunder.
Suddenly the roof of the building, which also houses an adjoining vulcanizing shop, flew off.
“Everything that was inside here got wet up. The radio set and everything damage because the water catch it,” she related.
Manager of the taxi service, Gaynor Ramdhan, explained that the situation has handicapped the business, since the most needed transmission service that facilitates communication with the drivers is down.
“Without the radio set no work can be done. Even the phone lines damage,” she said.
According to Ramdhan, she had just left the premises when she received a call from the dispatcher on her cellular phone.
“She told me that the roof fly off. I thought it was like two zinc sheets gone, but is when I reach here that I realise is this,” Ramdhan told Kaieteur News.
She said that the situation could have been worse. The mishap occurred a few minutes after she had held a meeting in the building with her staff.
Ramdhan assured her customers that the service will soon be back to normal.
Meanwhile, several other homeowners in the area were observed securing their roofs which were slightly damaged by the mini-storm.