'I'll never forget it'
2005-09-06 08:24
Lucia Swarte
Johannesburg - It's amazing how calm one can remain and how safe you can feel while the world around you is falling apart.
This is how Aart van Dyk, 29, described the ''nightmare experience'' he and his wife, Karen, 28, had in New Orleans. The Van Dyks arrived in Johannesburg from New Orleans on Monday, while the American city counted its dead.
''We are so glad our children are safely home. I was preparing myself for the worst,'' Marie Verwey, Karen's mother, said as she hugged her tearful daughter and son-in-law.
The couple of Faerie Glen, Pretoria, had barely landed at the airport in New Orleans last Sunday when they heard a hurricane was heading for the city.
''My wife was in Chicago (America) on course. I joined her for a short holiday. We met up in Houston (Texas) and flew to New Orleans after a few days.
''When we heard about the hurricane, we wanted to leave the city immediately but it was impossible. There were no taxis available,'' Karen explained.
'We prayed a lot. I was scared'
The couple booked into the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel along the Mississippi River. ''On Sunday evening one could see ripples on the water in the bath as the hurricane was approaching. We sat in front of the television in our room on the 19th floor and watched the news. It looked terrifying,'' she explained.
The hurricane hit between 19:00 and 20:00 on Monday. ''I'll never forget it. The fire alarms went off. Everyone in the hotel went to lie down on the floor on the ground floor in case the windows shattered,'' she said.
Van Dyk said the hotel heaved and groaned in the wind. ''It was frightening. We prayed a lot. I was scared.
''It isn't as if your life flashes before your eyes but you do think about what you've done and what you still want to do,'' his wife added.
Once the hurricane had passed, they returned to their room. ''We climbed many stairs because the power was off. Everything was dark. Before the hurricane hit, we ran baths to have drinking water. The Hilton staff was wonderful and professional. They did everything they could to keep us comfortable,'' she said.
'I'm just glad to be on South African soil'
A taxi driver, who had also sought shelter in the hotel, came to their rescue on Wednesday. ''We had tried before to get a taxi but all the roads were under water and there were no taxis. The hotel became like a shelter for people who had lost everything in the hurricane. It was terribly warm and we just wanted to get out of there. We were tremendously relieved when the taxi driver said he knew of a way out,'' she said.
Verwey and her husband, Tobie, were overwhelmed by the support they received. ''Our congregation immediately launched a prayer chain and people as far away as Israel prayed for us. It was a few days that felt like years but through faith and prayer we survived,'' he said.
He wondered whether he'd ever see his daughter or son-in-law again. ''When I saw the hurricane was going to hit them, I started wondering: should I not have given my daughter an extra hug? Did I tell her I loved her?''
Marie and her daughter were both in tears when they were reunited at the airport. ''I'm just glad to be on South African soil again. We don't understand things like hurricanes,'' Karen said.
''You always think things like that happen to other people. After the London bomb explosions, we prayed for people who had children there but it was far from us. Now it has happened to us. I will never listen to such news again without being affected,'' Marie said.
- Beeld