Three children are reported to have been injured and over 110 homes in Hazyview, Mpumalanga were hit by a raging storm in the early hours of Saturday.
Three schools, a clinic and a guest house were also affected in the thunderstorm that left inhabitants of Mahushu, Mkhuhlu, and Wards 3, 6, 9, 25 and 39 displaced. The affected children were rushed to Matikwane Hospital.
Responding to the incident, Ehlanzeni District Municipality spokesperson Lucky Ngomane said that tents have been provided for residents of houses whose roofs were blown off.
“Infrastructure damages include Inkunzi High, Siphumelele Secondary and Lundanda High Schools and about 110 houses, including Majika Clinic in Hazyview. The distribution of relief items such as blankets and tarpaulins is underway, while power supply is being restored,” Ngomane said.
Ngomane said that the municipality would be in Hazyview distributing relief to affected residents on Sunday.
“The teams will assemble at Mahushu bus station next to Midway [on Sunday] and will be accompanied by sector departments for further assessment and distribution of relief material.
“We caution communities to evacuate floodline areas and to avoid crossing flooded water streams and rivers during this rainy season.”
A Mkhuhlu resident said: “This rain was very scary. I feared for the life of my children. Our roofing is gone. Everything is washed away by the storm. I don’t know how we are going to get through this but we are grateful to be alive.
“As much as we have lost everything, we are happy to be alive. My children are still scared because they have never seen anything like this before — we all nearly died.”