About 50 homesteads have been damaged by strong winds that ripped through the Mthatha area in the Eastern Cape on Thursday night. Mpindweni and Gxididi villages were the worst affected.
The storms started late Thursday afternoon by destroying roofs and power lines. Fifty year old Somikazi Mkhutshwa and her six children had to sleep at a neighbour’s house, as their home was completely destroyed.
“There was a strong wind around 5 or 6 in the evening. I was with my children when we heard the veranda fall. We were still shocked by that when the other side of the hut fell. We slept at my neighbour’s house.
I have not been myself ever since. This is not right. I was supposed to meet other women to share our money from the stokvel but I couldn’t.
I wish government can build me a house because I have nowhere to stay. I had to hide my children under the bed,” says Mkhutshwa.
The OR Tambo district municipality is assessing the extent of the damage. Disaster practitioner Sabatha Ngwane
“We received the report that there is a damage that happened only yesterday. We are here now to make an assessment. From the assessment we are going back to the office to our seniors and they are going to see what is going to happen after an assessment has been done,” explains Sabatha Ngwane who is the Disaster practitioner.
