Durban - About 400 people from Steadville, near Ladysmith, were left in the open after a heavy storm ripped their homes apart and left a trail of destruction at the weekend.
The storm, which hit the area at around 5pm on Saturday, destroyed 70 homes in less than an hour.
Thembisile Msibi, 76, had her two-roomed mud house flattened by the storm. She was with her four grandchildren when the disaster struck. Her son, Lucky, who was in a shack adjoined to the house, was rushed to Ladysmith Provincial Hospital after being hit by a brick on the leg during the destruction.
“It is a disaster but still we thank the Lord that no one was badly hurt. I find it difficult to deal with this situation because we are unemployed and this was the only structure I had for a house. We are now relying on neighbours who were not hard-hit by the storm. I have no words to express my feelings. It will take me a lifetime to recover from this,” Msibi said.
Zibonele Makhathini’s family escaped a falling house without injuries. Makhathini said he was holding his 1-year-old baby when the roof started to crack.
“I jumped for the door and dashed into another structure. My entire family managed to escape just as the roof was blown away, with walls collapsing. It was scary, but we are grateful that there were no injuries or lives lost in the mayhem. As the only breadwinner here, it’s going to take me ages to rebuild this house,” he said.
Makhathini said that on the same evening they were given three blankets by people who said they were from the municipality’s disaster management division. He said yesterday they were offered plastic canvas to cover the gap in another structure which was partially damaged.
Co-operative Governance MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube visited the area yesterday to provide emergency relief to the families.
“What we have witnessed here today is heartbreaking - the sight of houses completely destroyed by (Saturday’s) storm is unimaginable.
“We have accompanied our teams to lend a hand in the mop-up operation as many families have been left with nothing,” she said.
Dube-Ncube warned residents across the province to be wary of inclement weather conditions as they posed a serious danger, especially in low-lying areas.
Affected households were provided with sanitary products, food, stoves, cutlery and emergency accommodation so they could commence rebuilding their lives.