WATCH | Inclement weather leaves two women dead after trees fall on them

Two women were killed when trees fell on them, and a business owner will have to close his business due to losing his stock and machinery worth millions after inclement weather battered their areas.

In Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, a 20-year-old woman, who has been identified as Seluleko, died on impact when a tree fell on the shack she was sleeping in on Wednesday morning in the Makausi informal settlement, Germiston.

Speaking to Sowetan, Temba Ntatha, 51, said he had told his son and Seluleko to sleep in his room at the time because theirs was leaking following the heavy rains and strong winds that had battered the area.

He said he was woken by loud bangs, which he initially thought were a dream, as well as thunderstorms.

“When I woke up, the roof of the shack was on my chest, almost suppressing me. I tried to locate my son and his girlfriend, who were in the room with me.”

Ntatha, who only sustained impact pain on his chest, said it still feels surreal.

“I can’t think straight; I’m not sure where I will spend the night. My son is in the hospital, even though not badly injured, and on top of that, someone died here.”

While the reason for the tree falling has not been confirmed, it’s believed to be related to the severe weather conditions across the country.

In Mpumalanga, the R570 road leading to the border with Eswatini was blocked after an electricity transformer and corrugated iron from a nearby butchery were blown off and landed on the highway.

Zakhele Porttet said he has lost millions in machinery and fridges from the heavy rains, and his business is going to close down.

“It’s very bad; I’ve lost a lot, millions.

“Not only did I lose the stock but also the machines inside, including my cooler rooms,” said Porttet.

Gedrude Nkosi-Sibulela, whose roof was blown off at midnight, said she lost everything, leading to her six grandchildren not attending school, as everything was soaked in water.

“I’m happy no one was hurt, but we have lost everything in the house. As we speak, we are waiting for the Nkomazi municipality to bring us a tent and blankets as they have promised,” said Nkosi-Sibulela.

Spokesperson of the Nkomazi municipality Mbuso Malale said they are still assessing the damage, but as things stand, 15 houses from Buffelspruit had their roofing blown off, while some collapsed.

“There were no fatalities, but people have lost valuables. As we speak, our disaster teams are moving around doing fact-finding on what will be temporarily provided to the families, as they have no places to sleep or blankets and food.

“We shall provide where needed,” said Malale.

In Ekurhuleni, Nokulunga Mhlahlo, a community developer from Cogta Gauteng, said they have an issue with unstable gum trees in her ward.

She said the City of Ekurhuleni had a budget to cut them, but the landowner said they should not touch his trees and that if they want to cut them down, they must buy the land or relocate the community altogether.

In Knysna, the Western Cape, a woman died after a tree fell on her vehicle on Wednesday.

Western Cape social development MEC Jaco Londt said the woman was on her way to conduct assessments of residents who were evacuated in the area due to the weather.

“Shortly after stopping, a tree fell on the car.”

Sowetan