Being evacuated at half-past midnight after your roof blew off would be terrifying for anyone. But for one Guernsey student, Goretti’s storm clouds had an unexpected silver lining – missing a 07:30 maths exam, and getting a free cooked breakfast instead.
Carpentry apprentice Zack (17) was at home with his girlfriend and his dad, Mark, when the fire alarm in their block of flats – Maison Haro near Green Lanes – went off at about 23:30 at the height of Thursday’s storm.
Zack’s father went out to investigate, discovering that a metal hatch on the fire escape had blown open – eventually being ripped off completely.
Minutes later, part of the building’s roof blew off, while a tree fell on a neighbouring apartment block.
‘The wind was blowing my phone out my hand’
Zack told Express that he followed his dad outside, filming the scene, but quickly became concerned about their safety as the wind was “literally trying to blow my phone out my hand”.
“My main worry was that roof hatch, because it had come off,” he explained.
“All it takes is that to go up in the air and smack Dad on the head.
“Suddenly it could come down from four storeys in 100-mile-per-hour winds.”
Elderly neighbours in tears
Zack and his dad have lived in their ground-floor flat, just off Courtil St Jacques, for about a decade.
He said his main concern, other than for his dad’s safety, was for his elderly neighbours, many of whom were extremely upset.
A lady who lives opposite had “come down and she was in tears”, he said.
“She was proper distressed and everything – and was very unhappy about the whole situation.”
Other people were “there in their dressing gowns and slippers, panicking about their houses and their cars and everything”.
Evacuation
Shortly afterwards, the emergency services arrived.
They quickly realised the flats, along with neighbouring Maison Brock and Maison Grue, were not safe to sleep in.
They advised anyone who could to stay with family or friends if possible, while about 50 residents were evacuated to local hotels.
Zack said about five people were taken “within 10 minutes to St Pierre Park Hotel”, while others were ferried to the Premier Inn at Admiral Park.
Zack, his girlfriend and his dad were taken to Hotel De Havelet, arriving at about half past midnight.
“The firefighters asked us to put hard hats on for safety as they took us to the vehicles – there were bins and tree branches blowing around.”
He said the emergency services did an “amazing job”.
“I was due to have a maths exam at about seven thirty in the morning,” he said, “but instead I got a free breakfast at the hotel.”
Calm before the storm
When news of Storm Goretti broke, Zack said he thought it “wouldn’t be that bad”.
“I wouldn’t say I thought ‘everyone’s overreacting’, but I did think there would just be some gusts and it would blow over,” he said.
However a conversation with his friend Matty, who is a fisherman, gave him a hint of what was to come.
Zack explained: “Matty pointed at the sea and said ‘This is the calm before the storm.’
“He told me to look at the water and it was completely still except for boats – literally nothing was moving.
Zack’s friend told him: “The calmer it is, the worse it’s going to be.”
“So he said it was going to be bad. I didn’t exactly believe him at first.”
‘100 times worse than I expected’
After work, Zack made sure his motorbike was fastened down and the doors and windows were secure, before taking a shower.
“The garage door was getting proper hounded as well last night, that was my main concern. It was getting blown forwards and backwards.”
Once he got out of the shower, though, he realised his fisherman friend was right about the strength of the storm – when the extractor fan started “going bam, bam, bam”.
“One minute I was taking a shower and then suddenly roofs are getting ripped off and alarms are going off.”
From the moment his dad went outside things were “100 times worse” than he’d been expecting.
Thankful
Zack said he was incredibly grateful to the emergency services, especially for helping his elderly neighbours.
Officials had told the family this morning that the flat was not yet safe to return to, so Zack was unsure how long they’d be in the hotel for.
He said: “I’m thankful that nothing’s really happened to me or my family.
However, he was “sad for other people’s families and all the damage”.
“It’s people’s lives,” he said.
Zack’s dad Mark, a decorator, said he would be at work on Friday helping to supply materials for the clean-up.
Meanwhile, despite missing his maths exam, Zack said he’d be pulling on his “steelies” and heading to work after his breakfast.
