The oThongathi area in KwaZulu-Natal is still reeling from the devastating impact of the floods and the tornado that hit the town on Monday, June 3.
The eThekwini Municipality stepped to help the community where numerous houses were destroyed, leaving thousands of locals homeless in this chilly winter weather.
Fatalities from the natural disaster have risen to 12 with over 1,200 people having lost their homes.
On Friday, eThekwini Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda headed a team to provide humanitarian measures in the hardest-hit areas.
This included distributing food boxes, blankets, building materials, and providing healthcare to afflicted residents.
“Our immediate priorities included clearing debris and fallen trees to enable our teams and organisations that provide humanitarian aid to deliver assistance and restore essential services.
“After preliminary assessments were conducted, we relocated affected families to temporary shelters. Today we were focused on distributing critical supplies,” said Kaunda.
He said the Municipality’s Water and Sanitation Unit have effectively repaired water supplies in the region, and works are currently in progress to re establish electrical supply.
Kaunda added that, while most communities have had their water supply restored, the Municipality will continue to deploy static tanks and water tankers to complement distribution.
Fisoul Bangene, a victim of the tragedy post on Facebook: “The things I always see on television, I saw them live today, many people were injured and for those who died I am not sure. I am only left with the things I am wearing and as for my ID, I do not know where it is.
“I have never seen such a thing and everyone lost their important belongings because the walls of the houses collapsed on top of everything important. And as for the roofs, we do not know where they have gone, even the road is blocked by everything that was blown by the storm.”
IOL News