Earthquake forces 88-y-o to sleep on chair

Unable to sleep in her bed because of a partially collapsed ceiling and fearing that the roof would cave in after Monday's 5.6 magnitude earthquake, Linda Penny had no choice but to sleep on a red plastic chair in what used to be her kitchen.

The elderly woman told THE STAR that she is now living in fear because of the constant rain and aftershocks shaking the already damaged structure.

"Mi afraid cause things can happen more," she said. When THE STAR visited the community of Cottage Hill, St Andrew, yesterday morning, the team found Penny in the partially collapsed building, sitting in the very same chair that served as her bed the previous night.

One can step directly into the elderly woman's house because the wall that was at the front of the dwelling was completely destroyed. This resulted in half of the room being covered in rubble. The refrigerator, where she stored most of her food, was buried beneath it. Penny told THE STAR that despite the condition of her home, she has nowhere to go and has no other choice but to sit and have hope.

"A don't know where a going. A can't live inna it because when the rain fall again, in there wet up... A don't have nowhere to guh," Penny said. She added that she would like to stay at a nursing home or with someone who is able to care for her and help her with her daily tasks.

When the earthquake occurred, Penny was at the clinic getting a cut dressed by a nurse. But after the earthquake she got the horrifying news that the front section of her house was gone.

"Somebody tell mi from up there, them call mi and seh mi place lick dung," Penny said. She added that because of the cut on her foot, it is difficult for her to walk around the rubble to get to her bedroom, which is behind the kitchen. As a result, she spends most of her time sitting on the chair except for when she has to use the bathroom.

Christopher Malcolm, Penny's neighbour, told THE STAR that when the elderly woman arrived home, he and his friend had to lift her into the house.

"A we tek har up and tek up the stuff them. The door was right here, some stone was over there and the stone was blocking the door and the food stuff and everything was spread out on the ground," Malcolm said.

After seeing the condition of Penny's house, Malcolm and Joel Powell, another resident, decided to clear the rubble to give the elderly woman space to walk easier to the adjacent room.

Penny and her husband lived in the house for more than 20 years but since he died last year, she has lived alone. The elderly woman, who has no children, said she is able to care herself but her niece stops by on Saturdays to help her. Still, residents are concerned about her living condition and fear that with the heavy rain, more damage will affect the stability of the building, possibly hurting or killing the elderly woman.