DURBAN - KwaZulu-Natal head of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka says 26 people were killed by lightning strikes in the province in four months, the latest being a granny and two children from the Mzobe family last week who died in an incident which left another child injured.
On Tuesday, Hlomuka and uBuhlebezwe Local Municipality mayor Elizabeth Ngubo visited the Mzobe family in the Ofafa area of northern KZN.
Hlomuka said the tragedy was an indication of the difficult conditions that KZN rural communities had to contend with as a result of ever-changing weather conditions linked to the climate change phenomenon.
During the incident, inclement weather experienced in parts of the province uprooted trees and damaged both public and private infrastructure.
“According to a family member, the lightning strike took place in the afternoon while Sizakele Antonia Mzobe was in the family’s rondavel where she was with three of her grandchildren during the storm. A bolt of lightning then hit the house and killed Sizakele, 69, Asanda Mzobe, 12, Yolanda Mzobe, 9, and injured Esihle Mzobe, 13, who has since been discharged from the hospital,” Hlomuka said.
“The loss of these three innocent lives as a result of a lightning strike leaves a deep scar in the rural community of Ofafa which has previously not experienced such an incident.”
During the visit, Cogta provided the family with interim relief.
Hlomuka said in collaboration with the municipalities of Harry Gwala and uBuhlebezwe, interventions such as helping bury those that had perished had been arranged. In the long term, the department would install a lightning conductor to protect the Mzobe household and surroundings, he added.
“While these interventions are necessary, it is important for residents across the province to be wary of the danger posed by inclement weather conditions, especially lightning strikes. During the summer season, which is December to March, the province has lost 26 lives as a result of lightning strikes,” Hlomuka said.
“Our disaster management teams continue to be vigilant against the dangers posed by inclement weather conditions in our communities.”
Hlomuka said should residents find themselves caught in a thunderstorm, they were urged to:
- Seek shelter in a sturdy building.
- Never shelter under an isolated tree.
- Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter.
- Immediately get out of and away from ponds, pools and other bodies of water.
Daily News