Battery resident loses roof in weekend windstorm

One of the homes hanging over the cliffs of St. John's harbour has its roof buckled and dangling, thanks to the winds that whipped through the city on Saturday.

"I heard a lot of banging and I thought, 'That must be the snowplow, I hope the snowplow hasn't banged into my house,'" said Judith Adler, who has lived in the three-storey Battery home since 1973.

"And then a neighbour called me and told me not to go outside because I might get hurt because the roof had come down and was banging against the side of the house."

On Monday, the roof looked like a crumpled envelope with strips torn off and drooping down over the side of the blue and white house.

"It passes through your mind, you know, is my house going to collapse? But I didn't feel that it was," said Adler, a sociology professor at Memorial University.

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Her biggest worry two days after the damage is how quickly it can be fixed.

She has insurance but said adjusters can't get on the roof to examine the damage until weather improves.

"We're expecting rain and I'm wondering how much damage am I going to have inside."

Adler said she has seen very high waves in her years living in the Battery, but has never experienced wind like this weekend's storm.