A WEST Albury woman was in shock after a mini-tornado sent a neighbour’s steel garden shed flying into her backyard yesterday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The wind gust lasted just 15 seconds but caused up to $10,000 damage to Donna Carroll’s house.
“It was so random and so bizarre,” she said.
A twisted bit of metal is all that remains of the shed, while the strong wind also lifted roof tiles that smashed over Mrs Carroll’s bathroom and fell through the manhole.
An outdoor Balinese style temple was also on the hit list, the powerful corridor of wind tearing a hole in the metal roof just after 2.30pm.
“A section of the roof was peeled back like a sardine can,” Mrs Carroll said.
It’s not the first time the house in Wattle Way has been in the path of a nature’s fury.
“About a year and a half ago we had a similar huge wind that sucked the front gates right off the hinges and they must weigh a tonne,” Mrs Carroll said.
“It’s like we are living in tornado alley.
“The power and destruction behind this strong gust of wind was scary.”
Mrs Carroll was in her study when she heard a loud “bang and crash”.
“I thought it was my dad who had come to pick up his trailer,” she said.
“The wind was so strong that it opened the door of a fridge and freezer sitting outside.”
Neighbours heard the noise and were stunned by the destruction the freak wind had caused.
Ross Bowling, a quadriplegic who appeared in The Border Mail on Tuesday with his new vehicle purchased with the help of fund-raisers, could not believe the intensity of the wind.
It was his shed that blew into Mrs Carroll’s yard.
“I saw the dust flying everywhere through the window and it only lasted 15 seconds,” he said.
“I will have to go and inspect the damage.”