{"id":140390,"date":"2016-12-11T07:02:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-11T05:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/140390\/more-homes-damaged-by-recent-storm\/"},"modified":"2016-12-11T19:00:31","modified_gmt":"2016-12-11T17:00:31","slug":"more-homes-damaged-by-recent-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2016\/12\/11\/more-homes-damaged-by-recent-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"More homes damaged by recent storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Germiston was engulfed by another storm last Monday night, which resulted in an avalanche of property damage.<\/p>\n

That was also the case for the Halgreen family, who were woken up by the same storm.<\/p>

<\/div>\n

\u201cIt was around 11pm when I was woken up by thunder, lightning and a slight drizzle,\u201d said Arwen Halgreen.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband Allan also woke up and shortly after, the storm hit and things turned bad.\u201d<\/p>

<\/div>\n

\u201cWe heard something pop and decided to go check outside, to try and find out what it was – only to find that our wall had collapsed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allan told the GCN that they had just finished rebuilding their wall on December 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe floods that occurred on November 9, also broke down our wall,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe claimed from our insurance and when they paid us out, we had a contractor come in to fix the wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s barely a week since the erection of the wall and it’s down again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Primrose East couple believe the metro is to blame, for the damage to their property.<\/p>\n

The damaged wall is adjacent to the metro-owned Primrose Sports Complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cA huge part of the complex isn’t maintained; the trees aren\u2019t pruned; the roots of the trees are putting pressure on the foundation of the wall – and the trunks are leaning over the wall,\u201d said Allan.<\/p>\n

Adding to the no-maintenance allegation, Arwen said the complex\u2019s storm water drainage system is poor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen there are heavy rains like on Monday night, all the water from the complex gushes into our yard, causing dangerous flooding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe power and force of the water hasn’t only damaged our wall, but our driveway as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve reported the condition of the complex to the metro countless times, but none of our efforts have yielded results.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple also added that they are worried about their and their two daughters\u2019 safety because the untamed field has become an escape route for criminals.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn numerous occasions, we’ve witnessed people running in that field with what looks like stolen goods,\u201d said Allan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve also spotted suspicious-looking men leaning and looking over our wall, from that dangerous part of the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have sleepless nights because of that wall; I’m worried about the safety of my family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish the metro would heed our call, for something to be done about the field and our wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of going to press, the GCN had received no comment from the metro.<\/p>\n