There were scenes of utter devastation in oThongathi in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday after Monday’s storm which brought heavy rain and wind that battered five districts in the province.
Emergency rescue workers, provincial disaster management authorities and aid organisations were on the ground to assist with water, food and blankets as more than 120 people lost their homes and thousands were without power.
In Newtown, Belinda Mngadi, 61, spoke of the tragedy that had befallen her tenants when a fridge fell over twin girls, aged one.
“It all happened so fast. Soon after the storm passed, the mother of the twins came running to me crying and asking for help. My son ran to assist them and found that the roof had blown off and the fridge had fallen over the twins.”
“I wrapped the lifeless bodies of the twins and we all ran to our neighbour for shelter because my house was destroyed,” she said.
South African Weather Service (SAWS) forecaster Siphesihle Dlamini said a tornado-like column of violently rotating air was behind the destruction in oThongathi.
In Burbreeze, Leon Mkhize said he was with four other people from his local church who were praying at Dudley Pringle Dam when they saw the storm approach.
“It happened so fast because we were shocked by how dark the clouds had become and we heard what sounded like water from above. The wind was spinning the water upwards in the middle of the dam and it was growing bigger and bigger.”
“I told everyone to run but we were far from home and we hid in a nearby sugar cane field and prayed. We watched the tornado destroying houses,” said Mkhize.
Meanwhile, as the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality continues to mop up operations in the Eastern Cape, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) was investigating the integrity of the privately owned Tiryvillle Dam near Kariega.
Seven people died and over 1000 were displaced.
At least 200 families residing at Lapland informal settlement and surroundings, located about 850 metres downstream of the dam had been evacuated.
@capetimessa At least six people have died following heavy downpours in Kariega at the weekend. #easterncapefloods #news #weather ♬ original sound - CapeTimesSA
“It has been established that the dam is a concrete structure which ideally should be able to cope with water flowing over the dam wall. However, due to a lack of historic information on the condition of the dam, it is prudent to treat the dam as a possible high risk and to take measures to safeguard the lives of the communities living downstream of the dam,” DWS said.
Large parts of the Eastern were also experiencing power outages as a result of infrastructure damage.
Cape Times