Johannesburg - A week-old baby girl was miraculously saved from death or injury when her parents’ home in Randburg was flooded during a storm on Monday night.
The family pet dog drowned in the floodwaters.
Jared Talbot and Jenna Lea Voros and their new baby, Ava, were fast asleep when they woke up to the sounds of their dogs yelping.
“I jumped out of bed and found knee-high water in our bedroom. I ran to the front door to open it to let the water run out, but it wouldn’t open because of the pressure of the water.
“We then quickly grabbed our newborn daughter and a few of her things and ran to the back door. By then the water was already waist-high and the back door, too, would not open because of the pressure of the water,” he said.
The couple were in a complete state of panic.
“We were trapped in a house which was filling up with water. All we could think of was our little girl,” he said.
Jenna Lea’s father, George, who lives in another house on the same property, but on higher ground, then arrived to check on the couple, and smashed a window.
“We handed him the baby, and he took her up to a safe level. In the meantime, I tried to get Jenna Lea through the window, but she was being cut by the shards of glass.
“She couldn’t move fast because she was still in pain from a caesarean birth. I smashed more glass out, cutting myself down to the bone, but at least we got out,” he said.
In the garden, their cars had started floating in the driveway.
“We started screaming and some neighbours came to help us. We lost everything - we had furniture and clothing floating in the water, but at least we have our lives and our little girls - that’s the most important (thing),” he said.
The dog, Lulu, drowned, but the other two swam to safety.
Councillor Chris Santana, ward councillor for the Jukskei Park area, blames the city department of parks and roads for failing to clear debris that accumulated around the bridge.
“I have been asking them to clear the river banks because Joburg is getting wetter and wetter every season,” he said.
André Gross’s house, close to the same bridge, was flooded for the second time in a week. “I’ve been asking the Johannesburg Roads Agency since 2007 to clean the stormwater drains. I’m being forced to vacate my house.”
The Star