Many left destitute by devastating Eastern Cape storms

Storms that ripped through several municipalities in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday wreaked a trail of destruction, damaging electricity infrastructure, flattening homes and leaving many people destitute.

Most of the destruction took place in the Amathole district, though the Chris Hani and Joe Gqabi districts were also hard hit.

Heavy downpours were also experienced in Joburg, with emergency services saying there were flash floods reported in low-lying areas. The teams will remain on high alert and monitor the city's seven regions, said EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi.

In the Amathole district, the worst-hit areas were in the Amahlathi local municipality and included parts of Keiskammahoek, Stutterheim, Cathcart and Kei Road. In the Raymond Mhlaba municipality, KwaMaqoma and Dikeni were affected, as were parts of the Great Kei municipality.

Disaster management teams were conducting damage assessments in the affected areas.

Amathole District Municipality spokesperson Sisa Msiwa said: “So far, we have not had any reported fatalities and only one injury.”

She said three houses in neighbouring homesteads were burned after being struck by lightning at Folokhwe village in Xhorha Mouth outside Elliotdale.

In the Amahlathi area, homes were damaged or destroyed in Ndakana and Khayelitsha outside Stutterheim. “In Ndakana, people have been housed in the local community hall. A young girl was injured,” Msiwa said. 

In Ngcobo village near Keiskammahoek, there were reports “that basically every resident’s house is flattened to the ground”.

I spent my retirement money building this home and now it has been flattened by the disaster.

—  Toney Mzondi of Jersey Valle in Ndakana

In Qumrha, houses were damaged in Siviwe township, Happy Valley and Draaibosch, while vehicles were damaged by hail.

Amathole mayor Anele Ntsangani visited Ndakana village in Stutterheim to assess the damage.

Chris Hani District Municipality spokesperson Thobela Mqamelo said the storms caused havoc in wards 21 and 22 of the Enoch Mgijima local municipality. 

“Affected villages include Ngojini, Dipala, Zweledinga and Muswa in the Hewu area, where 13 housing structures were totally destroyed. A preschool and a shearing shed were blown away while electrical poles with a transformer collapsed, and about 11 sheep were killed. No human fatalities have been reported,” Mqamelo said.

Gift of the Givers project manager Ali Sablay said its teams had been called by officials from various local and district municipalities pleading for urgent assistance.

He said Gift of the Givers teams were already on the ground in the Joe Gqabi District Municipality delivering emergency food supplies, blankets and sleeping mats to affected families and were working closely with municipal disaster management teams.

“Over 28,000 residents are without electricity ... We are calling for additional supplies from our national warehouse,” Sablay said.

Great Kei municipal manager Lawrence Mambila said the storm lasted about 20 minutes.

“It was scary ... The damage will definitely go into millions of rand.”

Mambila said by 2pm yesterday, electricity had not yet been restored in many parts of Qumrha.

Thembakazi Gxalathane, 71, of Siviwe township said she and the young relatives in her care are lucky to be alive after her home was badly damaged.

“It was God’s mercy that my grandchildren and I were not hurt when the bricks and roof started to fall on us.”

Toney Mzondi of Jersey Valle in Ndakana said his five-roomed home was badly damaged by the storm. “I am a pensioner, I don’t know how I am going to fix it because there is no other income. I spent my retirement money building this home and now it has been flattened by the disaster,” the 66-year-old grandfather of three said.

Amathole Local House of Traditional Leaders chair Nkosi Xhanti Sigcawu said most of the affected people were pensioners and the unemployed. “We hope the government will this time move with speed to assist these people rebuild their homes. We also call on the private sector and humanitarian organisations to assist,” Sigcawu said.

Msiwa and Mqamelo said municipal teams were still busy assessing the extent of the damage.

Additional reporting by Sowetan Reporter