Pretoria tornado: Displaced residents grapple with sadness, frustration, and confusion
The after-effects of the Pretoria tornado has left evacuated Montana residents experiencing mixed emotions.
It was a day filled with fear and uncertainty for some residents in Montana after a Pretoria tornado left them homeless and helpless.
One of the buildings significantly damaged by the tornado is the Sandpiper complex. Some of its occupants who had to be evacuated, spoke about their tragic experience with Newzroom Afrika.
EVACUATED RESIDENTS SPEAK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE AFTER PRETORIA TORNADO
Newzroom Afrika interviewed those who lived at the Sandpiper complex on 19 February 2025, as they tried to pick up the pieces of what was left after the damage caused by the storm.
One of the people they spoke to revealed that she was luckily not at home when the Pretoria tornado hit. However, the fact that the place she once called home was damaged has left her frustrated.
“I’m frustrated. I’m very sad. It’s my home. It might not be much, but it’s my home you know. And I need to come here and pack all my things up and make other arrangements, you know, to live. It’s sad. I have to pack everything up and it’s horrible,” she said.
The resident also revealed that all their appliances were destroyed due to the heavy rain, which has continued to pour in Gauteng. She and her family have managed to make other living arrangements. However, this is not the case for others who expressed that they still didn’t know where to go.
‘IT’S REALLY NOT NICE TO COME HOME AND THERE’S NOTHING LEFT’
Another person that the reporter spoke to is a university student from the East Rand, who said she and her roommate’s belongings were also damaged.
She also shared that they were still trying to figure out where they would relocate to after the Pretoria tornado. The student further stated that, “it’s really not nice to come home and there’s nothing left.”