Gurpal Singh holding a piece of the tree that fell on his home. Pic: Chris Dillon
A 60ft tree fell on a block of flats in Stamford Hill during St Jude storm yesterday morning, leaving families homeless for several hours.
The tree smashed onto Laindon House in the Stamford Hill Estate, breaking the top floor window, knocking off the chimney and heavily damaging the roof.
Ground floor flat resident, Gurpal Singh, told ELL: “It happened around 6:50am yesterday morning. The whole building shook and I ran to my daughter’s room to see if she was alright.”
“We were told yesterday evening it was safe to go back. Tree surgeons came today to break up the rest of the tree. We don’t know when this will all be cleaned up.”
Video: Gurpal Singh
Southern Housing Association sent their local team out yesterday to liaise with the emergency services and ensure that residents were looked after.
A spokesperson told ELL: “Our teams are back at Stamford Hill today to begin to fully assess the impact of the damage and the repair work needed. Residents will be kept informed once a plan is in place.
Mayor of Hackney Jules Pipe said: “Hackney suffered from fallen trees and branches as a result of the storm, but staff across the Council worked really hard to clear roads, make parks safe and clear some of the other disruptions caused by the strong winds.”
Winds of up to 80 miles per hour ripped through London during the early hours of the morning on Monday.
Elsewhere in the borough, a 26-year-old man was hit by part of a falling tree near Clapton Common. He was taken to Royal London Hospital after he was found suffering from neck and head pain.
Laindon House damaged after the storm. Pic: Chris Dillon
Also in Clapton Common, a man was taken to hospital after a chimney stack collapsed and trapped him inside a building. He was rescued by Stoke Newington firefighters who cut through the wall to free him.
Council staff and contractors are continuing to clean up after the storm. All gated parks closed yesterday as staff prioritised cleaning up parks that could not be closed.
Gated parks are expecting to reopen today and all roads are now open.
